By Three weeks until Passover. I have made the list and the list has a sub-list and the sub-list has annotations and the annotations have corrections, because Passover is not a holiday so much as a military operation with brisket. I have hosted Passover in this house for thirty-seven years. I know exactly how many people this table seats with the leaf in (twelve), without the leaf (eight), and with the borrowed folding table from the Bermans down the street (eighteen). This year I am anticipating sixteen: David and Jennifer and Ethan and Sophie and the new baby, who will be arriving any day now — Jennifer is overdue, or at the threshold, David says "any moment" — plus Rebecca and possibly her colleague Thomas who she has mentioned more than once in a way I find promising but will not pressure.
The Passover menu is non-negotiable: matzah ball soup, gefilte fish (from scratch — I know some people buy the jars, and I forgive them, but I do not understand them), brisket, tzimmes, roasted asparagus, macaroons for dessert and also a chocolate cake made with almond flour. The seder plate items are their own category. The haggadahs are the Maxwell House haggadahs because they are the right haggadahs, the same ones we have used since the 1980s, worn at the corners from fifty Passovers, and there is no need to switch.
Marvin is helping with the Passover planning. He asks me every day how many people are coming. I tell him. The next day he asks again. I tell him again. I have learned to answer the same question as if for the first time every time, because the frustration in his face when he realizes he has asked before is worse than the inconvenience of answering. So I answer cheerfully, as if the question is new and interesting, and he gets the information he needs, and his dignity stays intact. This is a very small adaptation. There will be larger ones. I practice on the small ones.
No cooking milestone this week, just the steady industrial production of Passover readiness. I ordered eight pounds of chicken, four pounds of brisket, five pounds of ground fish for the gefilte. The Passover dishes are washed and stacked. The table has been measured for the extra leaf. Jennifer, any moment. Any moment.
Of everything on the Passover menu — the brisket that must be started a day ahead, the gefilte fish I grind from scratch, the matzah ball soup that requires a particular lightness of hand — the asparagus is the one course that asks very little of me. That is not nothing. This tarragon preparation is what I have settled on after years of trying other things: it is clean and fresh and it tastes like spring arriving right on schedule, which is exactly what Passover is supposed to feel like. Sixteen people at the table, Jennifer any moment, and at least one dish that practically makes itself.
Tarragon Asparagus
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare the asparagus. Spread the trimmed asparagus in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat evenly.
- Season. Scatter the minced garlic over the asparagus. Season with salt and pepper. Toss once more to distribute.
- Roast. Roast in the preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness, until the spears are tender and the tips are just beginning to color. Thinner spears will be done closer to 8 minutes.
- Finish with tarragon. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chopped tarragon over the hot asparagus. Drizzle with lemon juice and scatter the lemon zest on top.
- Serve. Transfer to a serving platter and serve warm or at room temperature. Both are excellent.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 72 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 6g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 160mg