Category: asparagus

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asparagus food

asparagus

I cannot tell you how excited I get when late-April rolls around, and the asparagus season rushes on to us. Yes, you can get it almost any time of year but the Peruvian imports of November taste like skinny peas. It just doesn’t travel well. This is one ingredient where buying British is unequivocally best.

Thankfully scarcity is not the only reason to cherish it; the wonderful vegetable can paired with so many flavours. It loves strong salty partners like feta cheese, olives and Parma ham; yet happily mellows along with white sauces, soft-boiled egg yolk and mozzarella. And asparagus can be cooked in a multitude of ways: steamed and dotted with butter, roasted and drizzled with balsamic vinegar, barbecued and wrapped in prosciutto.

A couple of years ago I took a tour of a local farm at the start of asparagus season and had a go at picking the first of the crop. Fresh out of the ground it was crisp and vibrant, emerald-green and tempting. If you want to find a farm near you check out British Asparagus. You cannot beat it locally grown, except perhaps at home! I’ve grown it in the garden before (see above!) and after the 3 year gestation you end up with fabulously luscious and tender spears.

It’s narrow window of perfection, plus the various ways you can make the most of asparagus, that makes it feel like a treat. It’s not an everyday workhorse like the carrot or the broccoli but a brief guest on the dinner table, and should be spoiled rotten while you can.

Waitrose asked me to write about something that is ‘Best of British’. What could be better? This will soon be up against some other ‘Best of British’ things on their Facebook page so cheer me on!

Categories
asparagus food mushroom pasta

tagliatelle with mushrooms and asparagus

Well lookee here, another Ottolenghi recipe. And yes, it’s from Plenty, since you ask. It’s one of those kind of throw-it-in pasta recipes that I like, where the sauce is made in the same time as the pasta boils. In Ottolenghi’s original recipe it’s not explicit but you work out that you need four pans going at once which is a little mean. I’ve simplified mine down so you have a far-more-acceptable 1 frying pan + 1 saucepan combo. The crunch provided by the breadcrumb topping is a winner, I will certainly use it elsewhere.

Based on Yotam Ottolenghi’s crunchy pappardelle recipe.

Tagliatelle with mushrooms and asparagus (serves 2):

Handful of breadcrumbs

Zest of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove, grated

4 tagliatelle nests

Small bundle of asparagus, chopped into pieces

250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered

3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked

100ml white wine

150ml double cream

A tablespoon of chopped parsley

  1. Combine the breadcrumbs, garlic and lemon and fry in a hot, dry pan until the breadcrumbs are browned and toasted. Toss often to ensure they don’t catch on one side. Remove from the pan to one side and wipe it down with kitchen towel.
  2. In the same pan, add a little olive oil and fry the mushrooms and thyme until they start to soften. When tender add the white wine and bubble hard until this reduces by half.
  3. Boil the pasta according to the packet instructions. When there’s 4 minutes to go, chuck in the asparagus pieces. Drain the lot together but reserve a little cooking water.
  4. Back in the pan, add the cream and allow to come to a simmer. Check for seasoning and add a splash of pasta water, then stir the lot together thoroughly so the sauce coats the pasta and asparagus. Chuck on some parsley and serve topped with the crispy breadcrumbs.
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asparagus capers chicken food lemon

asparagus with crispy capers

I took the rare opportunity to do an entire meal on the BBQ, thanks to a timely blast of good weather. Chicken breasts are pounded flat and seasoned, then put straight on to the hot grill. Oiled asparagus joins it on the bars. Meanwhile on the hotplate side some capers are pushed around until they develop a crust, then put to one side for garnish. For a neat twist, I also griddled some lemons to both encourage juice and to give it an interesting smoked flavour. Perfectly tasty, and ready in ten minutes.

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asparagus food parma ham

asparagus with parma ham

As the green spear season trundles on, I continue to lavish attention on it by frying some slices of parma ham until crisp like shards of salt, and serving with steamed emerald asparagus from a local farm.

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