Asparagus Linguine with Peanut Sauce - No. 335

Revisiting a 1980s recipe + what recipes tell us today

FIVE YEARS AGO WE AWAKENED to a COVID epidemic that would reshape how we still live and cook today.

When I think back to those 2020 days, before I started writing newsletters on Substack, I shared via social media the Zoom bread baking sessions with family members across the country and how my garden had never been so abundant.

In a bit of spring cleaning, I came across my COVID diary. It reminded me of my sister and I swapping ingredients in the most unexpected fashion. She had pulled out our mother’s banana bread recipe, which called for a few tablespoons of buttermilk. She had no buttermilk, but I did. She, on the other hand, had received boxes of rice cereal by mistake with her online grocery order. So I placed buttermilk in a cooler on my side porch, and my sister left cereal in exchange.

COVID might have divided us on how we reacted to the virus, who got the vaccines first and who didn’t, who observed masks and who would not. But in the kitchen, it brought us together, and some recipes, like that banana bread, have been time-stamped 2020 forever.

Just this week I was reminded of asparagus recipes I made nearly 40 years ago. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s food editor Ligaya Figueras called me to ask about some of my asparagus recipes published in 1988 and 1990. To no surprise, one of them was a melange of linguine, asparagus, and chicken, with a creamy peanut sauce. I remembered that sauce. It was as much the ‘80s as MTV and shoulder pads.

Ligaya wanted to know if I could offer some backstory on the recipes. Honestly, a lot of years of feeding people had transpired since I wrote those columns. But as we got to talking, it dawned on me that fresh asparagus was my coming of age food. I wasn’t raised on it back home. My mother’s asparagus came mushy from the can, and when she visited me in Atlanta, I bought fresh asparagus from the DeKalb Farmer’s Market to steam until bright green and still crisp and then toss with soy sauce just for her. She loved it.

As I told Ligaya, in 1988 I was immersed in American regional cooking and the California food movement. Fresh asparagus would have been on my regular dinner rotation.

And those newspaper recipes are proof. As I have discovered in book research, recipes are artifacts. They tell us about our lives, family and friends, community, and what ingredients we had access to, when, and why.

What are you making and baking right now that says something about you and 2025?

Last Saturday I joined the Hands Off! peaceful protests that took place here in Nashville, in all 50 states, and around the world. And no, I was not paid to be there!

More than 5 million people showed up rain or shine to protest the Trump administration’s attacks on individual freedoms, the costly tariffs, and the slashing of federal funds for health, social service and education programs. Protestors cheered and held signs that wished for hands off our schools, Social Security, Medicare, our bodies, and national parks, to name just a few.

When one day my grandchildren study this pivotal time in American history, I want them to know their grandparents believed passionately enough in their future to don protest t-shirts and hit the streets to say what’s happening now isn’t good for America. It isn’t left or right as much as it is right versus wrong.

And while 2025 was supposed to be a year of recuperation for me, it has become a year of rejuvenation. I was too young in 1969 to speak out, but I’m plenty young now.

Asparagus as a side veg or main course seems quite right for these times because when the green spears shoot from the ground, having been weeded and composted, given full sun and well drained soil, the first and second year harvests are passed by patiently so to produce stronger perennial plants that will provide asparagus for decades.

Photo: Shutterstock.

If you grow asparagus, your eye is on the future.

When you harvest the spears and carry them to your kitchen, or buy them at the store or farmers market, look for crisp, straight stems that haven’t curled over as if they look like they’re burdened by a heavy load. Also avoid spears that have unraveling tips and more than an inch of woody white fiber at the base.

Treat asparagus spears as you might cut flowers. Stand them upright in a glass of cold water in the refrigerator. Gently drape a light kitchen towel or plastic wrap over their tops to protect the tips from the dry air of the fridge.

Here they will keep until it’s time to cook them, up to a week.

When I cook asparagus, I snap off the tough ends first (simmer ends into a soup pot with chicken stock and season and cook until soft, then puree and add light cream to thin for the easiest asparagus soup).

And if I’m feeling fancy, I will peel the stalks with a veg peeler, stopping an inch away from the tips. Then and now, I use a large skillet filled with no more than an inch of water. Add a pinch of salt, and bring to a simmer. Add the trimmed spears and cook until bright green and a sharp knife can be inserted into the spear easily but with a little resistance. Drain, refresh in cold ice water if using in salads.

My go-to asparagus is still to toss warm steamed asparagus with a little butter and soy sauce.

Recipes, even the simplest ones like steaming asparagus or baking banana bread, deliciously remind us where we once were and how we’ve changed along the way.

- xo, Anne

P.S. Stay safe out there. Crazy tornadoes have blasted through my home state and now I’m covering the peonies as we expect near-freezing temps this week. Spring will be welcome when it finally arrives!

And see you Wednesday in Philadelphia! I’ll be at Binding Agents in Philly Wednesday night at 6:30 pm signing copies of Baking in the American South.

THE RECIPE:

Asparagus and Chicken Linguine with Peanut Sauce

I was surprised how much I tweaked this versatile recipe of the past. Now I add grated ginger and a pinch of hot pepper flakes. I might use linguine or rice noodles. I might skip the chicken, or use seared salmon instead. And on top, I now definitely add cilantro, mint, or basil leaves. Back when I first shared this recipe, you couldn’t buy a roasted chicken at the grocery. Costco offered $4.99 rotisserie chickens beginning in 1994 after their Montreal locations noticed competitors were selling roasted chicken and they should, too. So the updated recipe offers an option of cooking your own chicken or using rotisserie chicken. If you cook the chicken, save the broth for cooking the asparagus and then the linguine. Also, you can use any vinegar in this recipe, such as rice wine, red wine, or even lime juice. And the same goes for peanut butter. The original recipe called for chunky, but I used creamy and added some chopped toasted peanuts to the mix. This is so good as an entree or as a side.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 8 ounces boneless chicken breasts or 8 ounces cooked rotisserie chicken

• Water to cover (for cooking chicken)

• Aromatics you might add to cook chicken: Quarter of an onion, rib of celery, black peppercorns, bay leaf, salt

• 1 pound asparagus (about 24 spears)

• 8 ounces linguine, broken in half

• Peanut Sauce:

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled

• 2 tablespoons vinegar such as rice wine, red wine, or use lime juice

• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup (125 grams) creamy or chunky peanut butter

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

• Dash of fish sauce, if desired

• Hot pepper flakes to taste

• 1/2 cup avocado or light olive oil

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds or 1/4 cup chopped toasted peanuts

• 2 green onions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch thin strips

• 1/2 cup diced cucumber

• Fresh cilantro, basil, or mint leaves for garnish

1. Place the uncooked chicken in a medium skillet, cover with water, and add the aromatics you like. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low, and cover and simmer until tender and cooked through, about 25 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the lid, and let the chicken cool in the broth 15 minutes. Remove to a cutting board and slice it into thin strips when cool enough to handle. Set aside but keep the broth.

2. Break the tough ends off the asparagus and discard. Cut the asparagus spears on the diagonal into thirds. Bring the skillet of broth back to a boil. Add asparagus pieces and cook until bright green and still quite crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well, and set aside.

3. Bring the broth back to a boil, add the linguine, and cook until al dente or by package directions, about 7 to 8 minutes. Drain and run under cool water. Drain again.

4. For the sauce, start the food processor and drop the garlic into the feed tube while it is running to form fine pieces. Add the vinegar, brown sugar, peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, fish sauce if using, and hot pepper flakes. Puree until well combined and thickened, about 1 minute. With the motor running, pour in the oil and process until smooth and creamy, about 20 seconds. Set aside.

5. Meanwhile, if using sesame seeds, place in a small heavy skillet over medium heat, and stir until golden, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat. Or chop the peanuts, and prepare the onions and cucumber.

6. In a large mixing bowl, toss together the linguine and shredded chicken. Add most of the sauce, and toss until the noodles are well coated. Turn onto a platter and top with asparagus, the rest of the sauce, and the toppings—sesame seeds or peanuts, green onions, cucumber, and fresh herbs. Serve at once.