Vessel Exploring food through cooking, at home in Nova Scotia

Asparagus fries are a great way to incorporate more veggies into your diet while still having a “fry” to accompany your burger. They are easy to make and you can bake them making them a healthy dip-able option. I would suggest serving them with a cream or mayo based dipping sauce – asparagus and ketchup does not sound appealing. These were served alongside the elk & sausage sliders.

Ingredients

2 c. panko

1 c. fine cornmeal

salt

1 tsp cayenne powder

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp caraway

20 asparagus spears, preferably thin spears

2 eggs lightly beaten

Instructions

Place a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the cumin seeds and caraway seeds, and toast, swirling the pan occasionally until fragrant, about 6-8 minutes. Use a mortar and pestal or a electronic spice grinder to grind the toasted spices. Add the cayenne and 2 tsp of ground spice mix into the panko mixture and stir to incorporate.

Wash the asparagus and break off the woody ends.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Dip each spear into the beaten egg, shaking off the excess, and then dip it in the panko mixture to coat. Lay each spear onto a baking sheet, so the spears are not touching. Repeat with all spears.

Bake spears for 12-20 minutes, until cooked, turning once half way. Cook time will depend on spear thickness.

For easy dipping sauce, add 1-2 tsp of spice mix into mayo, or sour cream/mayo combination to taste.