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Alice B. Toklas' Asparagus in Salt & Pepper Whipped Cream

by:
March 24, 2015
3.5
4 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

The one way you probably haven't thought about serving asparagus -- and you should. Adapted slightly from Greene on Greens by Bert Greene —Genius Recipes

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Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 to 2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and peeled
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 250º F. Cook the asparagus in boiling, salted water, or steam, until just tender. Place the drained asparagus in a shallow serving dish, and keep it warm in the oven. (Asparagus may be blanched ahead of time and reheated in a warm oven, if desired.)
  2. In a small saucepan, heat the butter with 1/4 cup heavy cream over low heat. Stir and pour over the asparagus; return the asparagus to the oven.
  3. Beat the remaining 3/4 cup cream with the salt and pepper until soft peaks form. Spoon over the hot asparagus. Serve immediately.
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Recipe by: Genius Recipes

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9 Reviews

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Darian March 5, 2020
I really enjoyed this, but the salt and pepper whipped cream was the star. I oven-roasted the asparagus and added the cream/butter in the last couple of minutes (only used 2 tbsp butter). I served the whipped cream on the side as I felt that putting it on top of the hot asparagus would have melted it too quickly. The whipped cream was great and could easily be used on many other dishes. We were eating crispy duck and duck-fat roasted potatoes and the whipped cream was tasty on the potatoes as well.
samanthaalison May 2, 2016
This wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly great either. For me, it was definitely not worth the extra dishes it created, nor the extra calories from the cream.
riv May 10, 2015
This looks so decadent; is the butter even necessary with all that cream? I would definitely add some sort of acidic component, which is lovely with asparagus. I have to try this at least once ;)
Maggie H. April 23, 2015
cpc, I see where you might have erred. 4 Tablespoons of butter is only half a stick - not a whole one.
cpc April 6, 2015
The recipe was so unusual I had to try it. This is the perfect dish for holidays and dinner parties! It's very low maintenance but is visually quite impressive and very fast to put together. The flavor is fantastic. Next time I will cut down on the amount of butter that I put with the asparagus though. It definitely didn't need a whole stick of butter as most of that was left behind in the dish when I served it. Otherwise, we all loved the savory whipped cream. Maybe some lemon zest could be added but this is a perfect dish to wow your dinner guests.
cjbollinger March 29, 2015
I made this the other night. It was really delicious...although I overcooked the asparagus slightly- had I not, it would have added a nice textural contrast . Next time the veg will be al dente and will make a big difference.
MC March 29, 2015
Alice B Toklas??? UHHH...Those were brownie recipes for Marijuana. I see no marijuana in this recipe, only asparagus! :)
ihamplau March 30, 2015
Alice B. Toklas (1877-1967) authored two cookbooks and although her most famous recipe included marijuana, it was the only one.
jdspring April 6, 2015
In fact it wasn't her recipe, it was a recipe contributed to the book by her friend, the artist Brion Gysin.