Chilled Asparagus with Curry Dip

When I think of a classic Gulf Coast Easter dinner, I think of dishes that are made ahead, particularly springtime dishes that–while they seem fancy–are served chilled or at room temperature. Ham, of course, is the centerpiece down here. You also see plenty of dressed-up potato salad with tiny new potatoes and dill, yeast rolls, deviled eggs, spiced carrot salads, carrot cake, and other things like that. (We can discuss congealed salads another time.) After all, you’re supposed to spend Easter morning in church, and not in the kitchen, non?

One of my favorite spring dishes is Chilled Asparagus with Curry Dip. And it’s perfect for your Easter feast. The sauce isn’t a hot Indian curry, it’s an old-fashioned, Deep South, yellow curry powder and sour cream concoction, and can be spooned over the asparagus, or works as a dip if you prefer. One reason I love having this classic recipe in my repertoire is because it’s so versatile and always very well-received. Elegant in its simplicity, I often serve it at spring parties instead of a full vegetable platter. It makes a good first course at a fancy plated dinner. And it’s brilliant as part of a buffet, whether you’ve put out the good silver in the dining room, or Chinet on the back deck. (And as long as it’s not on an actual silver platter, you can pick it up and eat it with your fingers.) But the main reason I so love this beautiful and delicious dish?

Because it took me all of 15 minutes to make, perfectly, YESTERDAY.

That’s right, folks! Not only is Chilled Asparagus with Curry Dip a beautiful and celebration-worthy springtime dish, it’s a lazy cook’s dream.

A couple of things, first:

This particular recipe is for fresh asparagus, not canned, jarred, or marinated.

You should choose pretty bunches with tightly closed heads.

When buying asparagus for this recipe, pick the bunches with fatter stalks. Dainty, thin, asparagus is awfully good, and we can talk all about recipes for those later.

We are going to simply blanch the asparagus and then put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Don’t skip the ice bath step.

Kitchen tongs are handy here.

Asparagus with Curry Dip

2 lbs. fresh asparagus (Two bunches, usually)
Salt
1 ½ cups sour cream
½ t. onion powder
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 ½ t. curry powder

Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. You’ll find that they all will break in about the same place. Bring a couple of quarts of salted water to a rolling boil in a deep skillet. While waiting for the water to boil, fill a large bowl ⅔ full with cold water and add a double handful of ice, and put a colander in the sink.

When water is boiling carefully slide in all of the asparagus at once. Boil for about a minute. Asparagus will turn bright green. Watch it. I actually stare at it until it’s not getting any brighter green and immediately take it off the heat. Quickly drain the asparagus and put into the ice bath to stop the cooking. After a few minutes, drain again and spread the stalks out on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to dry. Put dried asparagus in a gallon ziplock bag and place in the refrigerator until needed.

While the asparagus cools and dries, stir together sour cream, onion powder, lemon juice and curry powder. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Serve the asparagus on a platter with the sauce for dipping or simply spooned over the stalks. People will think you did something difficult. Your secret is safe with me.

Note: This curry sauce is excellent with other cold, crisp, vegetables, particularly lightly roasted cauliflower, boiled tiny potatoes, steamed small green beans, and blanched snow peas or sugar snaps.