Since we have been eating so much asparagus lately I decided to make Jan his favorite asparagus preparation. Deep fried of course. I have to admit that I love it this way too. I have so many chives in my garden right now that I figured my favorite herb sauce would be great for asparagus dipping. I usually make this sauce to serve with salmon or halibut, but it makes a terrific vegetable dip. Truth be told I love this with almost anything. If you don’t want to use horseradish in the sauce replace the 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoons of grated lemon peel.

Beer-Battered Asparagus  

1-cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 TBL finely grated lemon peel
¼ tsp black pepper
1 cup beer (a lager works best, but I have done it with a pale ale).  Make sure when measuring to pour the    beer slowly and don’t measure the foam.
About 4 cups vegetable oil
1 pound medium asparagus trimmed (make sure asparagus is thoroughly dry before dipping into beer batter).

Whisk together flour, salt, zest and pepper in a bowl until combined, add the beer, whisking until smooth.  Do not over beat batter.

Heat oil to 375 degrees in a deep-fat fryer or a 3 to 4 quart dutch oven.  If using a dutch oven use about 3 inches of oil in the pan.

Dip asparagus into batter to coat.  Working in batches of 10 spears, drag 1 at a time gently against rim of bowl to remove excess batter.  Drop spears 1 at a time in the hot oil.  Make sure not to do more than 10 sprears at a time as it will overcrowd the pan.  Stir gently to keep spears from sticking to each other.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown.  With a slotted spoon transfer fried spears to a paper-towel lined baking sheet.  Keep the asparagus warm in a 200 degree oven while cooking all the spears.

Horseradish and Herb Sauce

1-cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup fresh basil (chopped) plus whole leaves for garnish
½ cup fresh chives (chopped)
¼ cup fresh tarragon (chopped)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Saucy Mama’s Creamy Horseradish

Combine all ingredients and top with fresh basil leaves. Serve chilled.