Pickled Asparagus In Oil

Deliciously different this pickled asparagus in oil is the perfect addition to your antipasti platter or to add to brunch dishes, salads and great with a pate on toast too.

Asparagus season is upon us and that gorgeous green veggie is everywhere and at its very best just now.

I use asparagus in all sorts of ways from my chilled asparagus soup to my favourite pizza Bianca with asparagus, ham, and Brie. In fact, there are quite a few fabulous asparagus recipes on this blog.

This time I’ve chosen to preserve my asparagus in oil. I love preserving veggies in oil, it’s an ancient way of preserving food and you’ll see links to lots of other great ideas at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients

There aren’t many ingredients in this pickled asparagus in oil recipe and of course, asparagus is the most important one.

Make sure you are using good-quality fresh asparagus. I like to use thin stems of asparagus to pickle, they are tender and you don’t need to peel them, merely snip off the harder ends.

Salt and vinegar make up your pickling liquid, then for the preserving in oil stage you just need a mixture of vegetable oil and olive oil plus some black peppercorns and bay leaves.

Notes on oil

I use a mixture of both olive oil and sunflower oil to preserve my asparagus. You can use straight olive oil but I feel this can overpower the delicate taste of the asparagus so I use a 50/50 mixture of both oils.

You can use vegetable oil instead of sunflower oil of course.

Method

This preserved asparagus recipe is super easy, there are just a few simple steps to making the perfect pickled asparagus preserved in oil.

Trim off the ends of the asparagus and if the stalks are thick then peel off the outside skin. You won’t have to do this with nice thin asparagus stalks.

Next, you want to pickle the asparagus so put it in a jar standing upright and add the salt and vinegar to just under the asparagus heads and sit this in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes.

Drain the asparagus and pat dry on kitchen towels.

Then it’s on to the oil stage. Pop the asparagus back in the now empty jar and simply mix the olive oil and sunflower oil together and pour them into the jar. Add the black peppercorns and bay leaf and that’s it.

Leave the pickled asparagus in oil to mature for 2 weeks before you use it.

Storage

Your pickled asparagus in oil will keep for up to six months in a cool cupboard. Once open store it in the fridge and use it within a month.

Pro tip

You can also use the oil that the pickled asparagus is stored in as a salad dressing too.

Serving ideas

You can serve pickled asparagus very simply as part of an antipasti platter.

Here I have added my asparagus in oil to poached eggs on toast. I just love using it in brunch-type recipes.

Pickled asparagus in oil also goes really well with pate and of course, you can add it to salads too.

Looking for more great ideas for veggies to preserve in oil? Then check these out before you go;

French-style garlic confit (preserved garlic in oil)

Mediterranean vegetables in olive oil

Hot crispy chilli peppers in oil

Roasted peppers in olive oil

Grilled courgettes/zucchini in olive oil

You can find even more great recipe ideas my Preserved in salt, oil and alcohol section of this blog.

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.