Spring has sprung, and one of the brightest harbingers of the joyous season of renewal is the deliciousness that is asparagus. Maybe you are the hardy sort who plants it, or you are like the rest of us, and you are a very loyal consumer. Either way, it’s time. Get out there and plant, or go out and buy, a big, verdant bunch of super-fresh asparagus.
Humans have been gobbling up asparagus for ages. 20,000 year-old wild asparagus seeds have been found at archeological digs in Egypt. There is an image of asparagus in an Egyptian frieze that was painted before 3000 BC. Queen Nefertiti decreed asparagus to be the food of the Gods. In the first century AD Emperor Augustus quipped, “Velocius quam asparagi conquantur,” which every clever Latin wag knows means, “As quick as cooking asparagus”. A recipe for cooking asparagus even appears in the oldest known cookbook: Apicius’s Third-century AD De re coquinaria, Book III.
Asparagus, (or asparagi) named by the Romans, means “the first sprig or sprout of every plant, especially when it be tender”. There are four popular types consumed here in the twenty-first century: green, white, purple and wild. Green is what we usually find at the grocery store or farm stand. The new asparagus crops will be coming to market soon.
But I am wasting time inside here at the computer. It is spring, and time to enjoy the great outdoors and the bounty of asparagus that is rolling our way. Carpe asparagi! Seize your lively and persistent asparagus by the lapels, and cook it with abandon! I have nattered on before about our favorite way, which is to roast it on a cookie sheet under the broiler, with a scattering of salt, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. We also like to roll it up in aluminum foil and toss it on the grill for a few minutes. You can celebrate Friday Night Pizza and add a handful to the pizza just as it goes in the oven. Or stick a few tender shoots on a piece of baguette with a schmeer of goat cheese. Don’t waste a minute, or a morsel. (Mr. Sanders has just acquired an air fryer, and has been blasting batches of broccoli, so I imagine he will be experimenting with asparagus soon enough. Updates to follow…)
Penne and Asparagus
1 pound penne or other short pasta
1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into one-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon melted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 5-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Arrange asparagus spears in a single layer on a baking
sheet. Combine olive oil and butter and pour over asparagus. Season liberally with salt and
pepper and toss to combine. Roast, tossing as needed, for 15 minutes or until spears are
browned and tender.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, stirring
occasionally.
3. While pasta is cooking, in a large bowl, combine lemon peel and goat cheese. Stir until
smooth.
4. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Add hot pasta, asparagus, and 1/4 cup
reserved cooking liquid to bowl with cheese mixture. Toss to coat, adding more reserved
liquid as needed to make the sauce creamy. Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper.
4 minutes (cooking time, add some more for prep)
Just to let you know what sort of household I lived in – my children thought that pickles were green, leafy vegetables. It was difficult to get them to eat anything exotic (read: healthy) from the produce section. I have never been a big fan of stinky, cooked vegetables either, so they must come by it naturally. It wasn’t until I went to college that I finally ate a cooked pea. Mostly because there was no one in the dining hall who would accommodate my eating peccadillos. I drew the line at stewed Brussels sprouts that were served — talk about stinky!
I still don’t like vegetables that have been stewed beyond recognition. (As I also resist kale on principal. Along with tofu, veal, offal and tripe.) Aren’t we lucky there are so many ways to enjoy asparagus? Lightly roasted, gently steamed, broiled, wrapped with bacon, folded into pasta, trembling on the edge of ancestral china, lightly dusted with grated egg yolks, rolled in sesame seeds, on top of pizza, in a quiche… Asparagus might not be quite as versatile as the potato, but you can bake it, grill it, stir fry it, roast it, steam it, or toss it into a salad.
How about some tasty asparagus tips in your eggs on Sunday morning? Don’t feel like a big dinner production? Get out a baking sheet and fire up the broiler. In a few minutes, with a judicious drizzling of olive oil, a fistful of salt, and a quick squeeze of lemon, you have an elegant dish that you can eat with your fingers out on the back porch as you count the first fireflies of the season.
I don’t know if asparagus was on any of the menus during King Charles’s visit here this week, but I certainly hope some Eastern Shore asparagus was offered to him. Did you know that unless the asparagus is served with sauce, it is considered only polite to eat it with your fingers? Even Charles and Camilla eat it that way. According to the Times and Debrett’s: “Asparagus is always eaten with the left hand and never with a knife and fork.” It is a fun fact to know and tell just when you are getting ready for the first picnic of the season.
This might be too messy to eat with your fingers, but it is worth a try:Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Tarragon Tart (I love the fact that there is no shame in using a store-bought puff pastry – life is short and pastry can be tricky.)
Look at this lovely asparagus salad! It is an Instagram vision of springtime with radishes, peas, asparagus, spring onions, and mint leaves. Asparagus Salad
Mass quantities of farm-fresh spring fruits and vegetables are ready for you to gobble up: The farmers’ market has been a delight! (The St. Michaels Farmers Market has opened for the season! SMFM )
Enjoy May Day! Be careful streaking – there are lots of smartphones out there these days…
“I’ve never got to the bottom of streaking.”
— Jonathan Agnew
