a meal for a warm spring friday night

South Carolina breeds balmy spring nights great for grilling.  The main course is often simple around my house -- a good cut of meat, seasoned simply, with kosher salt and pepper, cooked on the grill.  So the sides become important.  Last night, that meant some of the first asparagus of the season, and a spaetzle dish we love with red meat.  I am a sucker for asparagus with hollandaise, but that can be a little caloric, so here is a preparation that is both simple and delicious.  I like to peel the stems of the asparagus.  It takes just a couple of minutes with a vegetable peeler, and I think it yields a more tender and less "grassy" tasting vegetable.

laying the spear flat on the cutting board makes

it easy to take off the sometimes tough outer skin.

I have sliced shallots into fairly thick rings for "frizzling"

Toss the asparagus with a teaspoon of olive oil in a baking dish, in preparation for roasting.  Heat the oven to 450.  They will roast in the time it takes to cook a steak.  For garnish on the asparagus, I use grated lemon rind, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and "frizzled" shallots, which are basically little onion rings with no batter.  They couldn't be easier. Slice the shallots into rings about a quarter inch thick.  Toss them about with your fingers to separate the individual rings.  In a small sauce pan, heat about 3/4 of an inch of neutral oil, like peanut oil, to shimmering. Once a single rings will sizzle in the oil, you can toss in the lot of them.  Watch them closely -- they will go from brown to burnt in seconds.  They really only take a minute to crisp, so it's not like you will spend ages hovering over them.

once the shallots are crisp, just drain them and let them sit

these can be done way ahead -- they are yummy on a steak as well

Now, for another great side dish for grilled meats -- spaetzle.  Home made spaetzle is easy to do, but in this particular dish, the dried ones from the grocery are actually better -- the same way that dried pasta can be superior to fresh in some preparations.  They are cooked right in their sauce, and soak up loads of flavor.  I saute coarsely chopped mushrooms until they have exuded all of their moisture, and have begun to brown.  I reserve them in a bowl, and using the same pan, I add beef broth, maybe a little white wine (red makes the spaetzle a weird color) some thyme, maybe some dehydrated onion flakes, and the spaetzle.  As the spaetzle absorb the moisture, just keep adding a bit more water or broth, until they are al dente.  Then add back the mushrooms, season to your taste, and serve.  It is a creamy, rich tasting side dish that goes great with grilled meats.

  typical store-bought spaetzle

an earthy, satisfying side dish

a tasty meal, american bistro style

I am glad to say, we aren't gluttons -- 

Jim and I split that steak