This weekend we were literally tripping up over asparagus. There are two local growers who have roadside stalls near us and my husband came home carrying fresh bundles like they were kindling sticks on thursday. Then on friday at a Royal Wedding Party we were given another five bunches… thank heavens for house guests with big appetites.
Asparagus is best eaten as fresh as possible but I knew I was going to have to spread this crop out over 3 days so I popped it all in a pan of water standing upright in an attempt to preserve it. I have no idea if this is a good thing to do but it seemed to work well.
Recipe 1: Steamed Asparagus with a poached egg
Deliciously simple and stunningly presented, especially if you happen to have long white plates to lie the emerald stems out on.
The trick with this recipe if you are cooking for more than 2 people is poaching your eggs in advance so that you don’t have a timing problem when you come to plate up – with the second batch of eggs delaying the table from their tempting starter. I happily poach up to three eggs at a time in a pan of gently simmering water. I swirl the water before I drop in an egg (one at a time) – having cracked it first into a glass or a ramekin to ensure it drops in neatly. Personally, I don’t bother with vinegar in the water and I never have a problem. Do be sure to choose fabulous quality eggs though as the colour and taste of the yolk will make all the difference when your guests dunk their first asparagus spear into it.
If you have a mixing bowl full of iced cold water, you can scoop out the eggs when they are just underdone (about 3 mins) with a slotted spoon, drop them gently into the cold water to stop the cooking immediately, clean out your water pan of all the cooked egg white that floats on the surface and repeat until all your eggs are cooked. 6 poached eggs on Saturday evening took me all of 10 mins.
Then it’s time to cook the asparagus (before cooking, break off the base of each stem where it naturally bends and snaps) - the spears are best steamed in a colander or steamer over boiling water – it is the stalks that need the cooking as the tips barely need warming through at this time of year. Use a sharp knife into the thickest part of the steam to check that they are done.
The moment the asparagus is on and steaming, bring a clean pan of water back to the boil, then turn off the heat and gently slide in all of your already poached eggs to warm through again.
Arrange the cooked asparagus neatly on a plate in a mound with a flat top, rest a poached egg on the fattest part of the stems and sprinkle a small amount of sea salt and cracked black pepper over the egg. Serve quickly and encourage people to start straight away.
Recipe 2: Chargrilled or barbecued Asparagus
Couldn’t be more simple and yet stunning served alongside your early spring barbies.
Poach your asparagus in some boiling water for just a minute or so. Drain well and cool down completely in cold water to preserve the colour and stop the cooking. Toss the spears in some extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil with some salt and pepper.
Once you have finished cooking all your meat or fish and it is resting on the side of your barbecue, use tongs to transfer the asparagus spears onto your hot barbecue grill. Position the spears perpendicular to the grill to stop them falling through into the coals but also to ensure you get good griddle marks. After about only 30 seconds, using the tongs again, move the spears around, you will see they have taken on a fabulous chargrilled colour and flavour. Keep doing this to be sure to grill evenly.
All in all it takes about 4 minutes, lift them off onto a serving dish and serve up alongside your meat or fish. Incidentally, you can do this with loads of other vegetables. I slice courgette into 4mm slices and cook them from raw on the barbecue, chunks of pepper are effective too as is Aubergine. It all cooks in the time between when your meat is finished and benefitting from a rest and when it’s time to eat so no panic on cooking times or having enough room on the barbie.
Recipe 3: Asparagus with a Salad Nicoise
My husband cooked lunch yesterday and it was so delicious what he made that I want to share his recipe with you.
2 baby gem lettuces – washed and ripped up, generous handful of green beans, cooked and cut in half, 4 tomatoes cut into quarters, handful of new potatoes, boiled and then sliced and sauted until golden brown, 2 soft hardboiled eggs (about 6 mins), tin of flaked tuna (drained) and our last (phew) bunch of asparagus steamed
He mixed all of the above colourful ingredients together (I know the olives are missing but I am a philistine and still can’t bring myself to eat them – add your own if you must…) and then made a simple dressing from a couple of tablespoons of Hellmans watered down to cream consistency with water. Drizzled over the top, the salad was tossed by us as we served ourselves from a beautiful earthenware bowl. It was completely scrumptious and something we will be eating again soon I reckon!
