Asparagus with Toasted Bread Crumbs and Olives

A delicious vinaigrette dresses steamed asparagus with a splash of rich flavor. It sets the stage for a delectable crumb topping that elevates Asparagus with Toasted Bread Crumbs and Olives to an irresistible side dish.

Asparagus

Isn’t asparagus wonderful? Those elegant bright green spears just shout that spring is coming. They are so pretty on a plate, so uniquely architectural, served on their own, simply roasted, or with something delicious sprinkled or drizzled over them. What’s more, asparagus is generally quick and easy to prepare.

And so, as I selected vegetables for the week, I ended up with not just one, but two, bundles of beautiful fresh asparagus. Not wanting to bore my family, or myself, by preparing the asparagus the same old way I usually do, sautéing it in a pan until crisp tender and then sprinkling it with a few drops of balsamic vinegar or sesame oil, I thought I would look through a cookbook for some new ideas.

As is often the case, Real-Life Entertaining by Donata Maggipinto had just what I was looking for. There I found a Spanish influenced recipe which included luscious black olives (a personal favorite), buttered crumbs and a sherry vinegar based dressing. Sound delicious? It did to me, so I gave it a try.

Great Additions – Olives and Toasted Bread Crumbs

The first step is to make a simple vinaigrette. A little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, some salt and pepper, set the stage for the addition of a nice sherry vinegar. Simply shake these together in a glass jar or blend until emulsified. This vinaigrette will dress steamed asparagus with a splash of rich flavor.

Don’t have any sherry vinegar on hand? While sherry vinegar adds a complex note of Spanish flavor to this recipe other vinegars can be substituted as needed. A plain rice vinegar would be a fair substitute. Or use a nice red wine vinegar if you have it. I almost always have white wine vinegar in the kitchen and have used it here too.

One of the best parts of this recipe is the way it transforms stale bread into an amazing topping. My crumbs came from the end of a loaf of sourdough bread. It was only slightly stale but the crustiness of the loaf gave the crumbs texture. Toasted in my cast iron skillet with a little butter, like good croutons, the bits of bread turned out crispy and delicious. With the addition of some chopped black olives, it was hard to quit eating the crispy buttered crumbs straight from the bowl before I had even steamed the asparagus. Luckily, the recipe makes plenty of topping so that wasn’t really a problem.

Asparagus with Toasted Bread Crumbs and Olives

Course: Sides, VegetablesCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

12

minutes

Cooking time

8

minutes

Total time

20

minutes

A bright vinaigrette and an inspired blend of crispy crumbs elevate this dish into a pretty and irresistible side.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds asparagus, trimmed

• Vinaigrette:

• 3 Tablespoons sherry vinegar

• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

• 6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

• Crumb Topping:

• 2 – 3 Tablespoons butter

• 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs

• 1/2 cup sliced black olives

Directions

• Prepare a vinaigrette by whisking together the sherry vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Prepare the crumb topping. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the bread crumbs. Cook and stir over medium heat until the crumbs are toasty, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel. When cool, add to the olives and toss. Set aside.
• Heat 1/2-inch of water to boiling in a large saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and the trimmed asparagus. Reduce heat, cover and steam for approximately 5 minutes, adjusting the time according to the thickness of the asparagus spears, until asparagus is crisp tender.
• Drain asparagus and arrange on a small platter. Sprinkle crumbs and olives across asparagus and drizzle with the vinaigrette.
• Serve and enjoy!

Notes

• You can make fresh bread crumbs by putting several slices of firm bread in the bowl of a food processor and pulsing until crumbs form. I didn’t have firm bread on hand so I used unseasoned croutons that had been smashed a bit.
• There will likely be plenty of crumbs and olives as well as vinaigrette left over to dress some baby greens for a salad the following day. Or you could cut the recipe for vinaigrette and topping in half and have fewer leftovers.