Five Ways to Cook Asparagus
I spend a lot of time working on my own in my kitchen studio in Bristol. As well as developing recipes, part of my self-prescribed job description is tasting (eating) in order to make sure whatever I’m writing about is as delicious as it can be. Most days I’m grateful to have a family with a good appetite, who will enjoy the fruits of my labours, but we’re in asparagus season though now, and I’m quietly pleased that most of my cooking and tasting happens during the day when everyone else is out.
At the start and end of the British asparagus season, a bunch can feel prohibitively expensive, so I like to stretch my haul out, usually with carbs. Try adding shaved ribbons of asparagus to a lemony pasta with fresh herbs, or stirring through a risotto.
Keep things simple by boiling asparagus in salted water (I prefer this method to steaming because the salt in the water seasons the asparagus as it cooks), before serving with a squeeze of lemon, melted butter and chopped chervil or parsley for a wonderful Spring starter with crusty bread.
Heaven on a Sunday morning for me is a soft-centred-golden-yolked egg and asparagus soldiers for dipping. Whilst I love toast with a great passion, I’m all for sneaking in extra portions of veg into every meal.
If you’ve never tried asparagus raw, then why not? This shaved salad with shallots, black sesame and parmesan is intriguing and one I make on repeat year after year. If you want to make your asparagus go further, stir some cooked soba noodles through the asparagus.
Asparagus and peas are a match made in heaven. Lightly blanch some asparagus spears and peas in salted water before laying over a puff pastry sheet and dotting over some mozzarella and fresh herbs. Bake, until the pastry is golden and the cheese is bubbling, then grate over some lemon zest and grind over black pepper before serving.
