Asparagus Ribbons with Lemon and Goat Cheese

I didn't have a peeler in order to do the asparagus in ribbons, per the recipe instructions, so I just blanched the asparagus for a couple minutes. After the ice bath, I cut each asparagus into about 3/4" pieces and it worked out just fine. I therefore didn't have the bitterness problem.

I was excited to try this dish but found that the ribbons lost integrity quickly and when dressed became slimy. Too much of a pain to do again. The flavor was nice though.

I cut the asparagus into thin strips with a paring knife and then steamed then for one minute in the microwave, and then ran them under cold water before proceeding with the recipe. This was absolutely fantastic! We served it with the Cooking Light Grilled Chicken with White Barbecue Sauce recipe and it was the perfect complement, very fresh and light alongside the spicy chicken. I'm thrilled to have a new go-to recipe for asparagus!

Wonderful! To make peeling the asparagus easy, you need a vegetable peeler with only ONE slot. My original peeler (from Publix) had TWO slots with a central metal piece--that design will not make ribbons! A mandolin, my initial backup plan, did not work either. I had no problems with bitterness whatsoever, though I would imagine if you had used a knife, the thickness of those slices could contribute to bitterness. Remember: PEELER MUST HAVE ONE SLOT!

I have found a solution to the bitterness problem. After creating the ribbons with a vegetable peeler I mixed them with a generous amount of lemon juice and olive oil (to preserve color) and then laid them in a colander over a boiling pot of water and steamed them for somewhere between 5-10 mins..tasting them until they lost their bitterness. They are less crisp than the original recipe but the flavor is much improved by a quick steaming.