More asparagus, this time with pinenuts, lime and browned butter

Those fresh asparagus from Uus-Kongo farm at the Central Market have become popular. For example, there was none left when we made it to the market on Saturday morning. Granted, we got there shortly after noon (well, not exactly a morning, I know), and considering the market opens at 7am, the chances we'd find anything so special and delicious were small anyway. Same with fresh morels and new season's beetroot. None left.. But at least I managed to put an asparagus order in for Tuesday (Monday's crop was already counted for). Yesterday morning I got almost a kilogram of beautiful, fresh asparagus, so last night we had another asparagus meal. The dish is inspired by this Arla recipe, but ended up being something rather different, as I remembered the ingredients and the process wrong (used pinenuts instead of sunflower seeds, and blanched the asparagus instead of frying), which I realised only afterwards. I liked my unintentional creation, however, and would happily make it again..

Asparagus with pinenuts, lime and browned butter
(Sparglid laimi ja seedermänniseemnetega)
Serves 2


Lovely, perk asparagus spears :)

300 grams young fresh green asparagus
2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 Tbsp butter
half a lime
sea salt

Toast the pinenuts on a hot non-stick pan, until they're all nutty-smelling and slightly golden. Take care not to burn! Put aside.
Melt the butter on a small frying pan on a moderate heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter has browned slightly.
Snap off the hardened lower bits of the asparagus. Place in a pot of salted boiling water and simmer for approximately two minutes (test for doneness with a small knife). Drain thoroughly and place on a plate.
Squeeze the lime juice over asparagus, pour over the melted butter and scatter toasted pine nuts on top.
Serve.

Other asparagus recipes @ Nami-nami:
Roasted green asparagus with feta cheese (May 2007)
Roasted green asparagus with Parmesan cheese (May 2006)
Wild asparagus with butter / Wild asparagus with pasta & garlic (May 2006)