16 Apr 2024
Elena Hogg, founder of local culinary company FOOD by Elena, celebrates the virtues of the humble asparagus..
April sees the onset of asparagus season in the UK and I shall certainly be enjoying a green spear or two over the next few months. A nutritional powerhouse, asparagus offers us vitamins C and K, as well as lots of fibre. In fact, according to the ‘British Asparagus’ website, it’s also good for curing hangovers and increasing libido, so all in all, there’s very little in the ‘cons’ column when it comes to asparagus.
There is one drawback, though. That smell. You know the one: if you need a number one not even thirty minutes after consumption, you’re assaulted by a strange, grassy odour – a bit like gone-off asparagus but more, well… uriny.
Moving on swiftly from bodily functions, asparagus is the star of many a culinary delight, from dishes as humble as asparagus ‘soldiers’ for dipping in soft-boiled egg to elegant centrepieces like salmon and asparagus terrine.
My lovely friend Leisha (whose dishes seem to be making a regular appearance in my column, due entirely to how much of her delicious food I’ve been fortunate enough to eat) made a terrine like this not too long ago and I remember holding my breath as the knife sliced through and revealed a beautiful cross-section of green asparagus circles suspended in soft mousse, and all encased in the pinkest smoked salmon. Art on a plate.
For a more relaxing weekend recipe, I recently made an asparagus omelette and the end result was very pretty despite the effort levels being extremely low.
Ideal, then, for a lazy brunch. And the kids could eat it too, despite the presence of the dreaded green sticks of yuk, because I could just cut their slices from between the asparagus spears. Cook your asparagus before laying atop your omelette mix in the pan, or else the eggs set before the asparagus even begins to soften.
Talking of undercooked asparagus, I’m a firm believer in properly cooked veg. I feel the flavour comes through so much more: soft green beans, for example, are preferable to the kind that have been fleetingly moistened by steam and are still essentially raw. I mean, I love raw veg too, but only when it’s intentionally raw and not masquerading as cooked. Disclaimer: by the term ‘properly cooked’, I absolutely do not mean mushy.
Asparagus, however, is one of few veggies I rather enjoy undercooked. I remember having very lightly steamed asparagus dressed in a fragrant, umami-rich concoction involving soy and garlic.
The chef had peeled the asparagus. It was the first time I’d realised that, if you peel away the tougher outer skin and most of those nubbins along the stem, a gentle steam is more than enough, and the little ‘snap’ you get as you take a bite is most pleasing.
Since then, I have always peeled my asparagus (the shavings can be added to flavour any stock or soup I’m making) and have developed a Mediterranean version of the Chinese dish I devoured that evening. I make a lemon and olive oil emulsion, which sounds super-fancy but really means simply mixing the oil and lemon juice so thoroughly that the particles become tiny, forming their own thick liquid that doesn’t separate after being left a while.
I use this emulsion to dress the asparagus spears before adding shaved parmesan and lots of black pepper.
Sometimes, I grate the parmesan instead of using shavings, then combine it with breadcrumbs and lemon zest, and fry it all off in a pan.
Once golden, I sprinkle it over the asparagus – the saltiness of the crumbs are delicious against the asparagus’ natural sweetness.
There are myriad other recipes to try out while asparagus season is upon us. If you’re feeling brave, try some geometric arranging of the spears for a galette or square tart – basically food-based Tetris.
Or perhaps try a classic asparagus risotto. For this, I find tinned asparagus are excellent: add the tin juices to your stock for a flavour boost. Tinned asparagus
also breaks down more easily and so is perfect for cooking into a risotto. This means plenty of asparagus flavour and nutrition without wasting the fresh (and more expensive) spears, which you can lightly steam and fold through right at the end, keeping their bite and offering a good splash of green colour.
And if you’ve been over-zealous – as I so often am – and bought too much seasonal asparagus, any aging, slightly wrinkly stems are perfect for soup, which
you can then freeze and smugly enjoy long after the season’s finished. Why not add a splash of cream to bring out the asparagus flavour? Little asparagus tip there for you. Get it?
