Asparagus - still almost seasonal

"When it comes to what you might call seasonal sensitivity - the degree to which the quality of a vegetable is dependent on the time it's harvested - asparagus has to be at the top of the tree."

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

And it's spring and so the asparagus has begun to appear in the shops. Apparently most of it here in Australia is grown in South-east Queensland and on the Atherton Plateau and also in the lower Murray River area in Victoria. I must say I find it a bit odd that it is grown in Queensland as it's a temperate climate plant and likes to be pretty cold whilst growing. But maybe it is pretty cold there in the highlands. Be that as it may - it is indeed appearing in the shops, and yes it is one of the more seasonal crops. Yes you can probably get it all year - imported or maybe grown in greenhouses? But mostly it is just in spring. It's harder to find the rest of the year unless it's frozen or in a tin.

I read a lot on asparagus from my various cookbooks and online and the one thing that everyone seemed to agree on was that it has to be fresh, fresh, fresh and really you should grow your own.

"Asparagus needs to be eaten the day it is picked. Even asparagus by first class post has lost its finer flavour. Why gardeners all over the country do not automatically plan an asparagus bed, I shall never understand. The crowns available nowadays start producing in their third year; three-year roots are sold by some firms. Why grow row after row of cabbage, when cabbage is always in the shops in reasonably good condition at a low price?" Jane Grigson

Apparently as soon as you cut it it starts to lose its sugars, and its flavour. All of my gurus almost all said do not keep for more than three days tops - I fear I have sinned there. They also suggest keeping it fresh by either standing it in a jug of water in the fridge or wrapping the stalks in damp paper towels. I also have not done this, but might do in the future. They are horror struck by bundles with elastic bands - they damage the fragile stems - but don't seem to mind string. Mind you if I buy it in elastic banded bundles I do take the elastic bands off straightaway.

It's a little bit pricey - the very small bundles I bought in Aldi were only 99c though. But then you don't need a lot as it has a fairly strong, yet somehow delicate flavour. It's priciness is probably due to the seasonality and also to the fact that it's very labour intensive to grow - plus there's that initial period of three to five years from when you plant it to when you can harvest it. I believe it is actually quite easy to grow but I have never tried it. I know you can get the roots from Bunnings so maybe I should give it a go. It would show optimism at least - I'll still be here to eat it - wouldn't it?

"Asparagus is still a huge treat. No matter how much its price comes down, its luxury status will never diminish for me." Nigel Slater

And this is true. It's a posh food isn't it, even though it is available in your local supermarket? Well that's how I think of it. We never had it when I was young. And not everyone likes it. - including Elizabeth David:

“I would as well eat a dish of tiny green beans in early summer as to go to the money and trouble that asparagus entails.”

I must admit i find that although it is indeed seasonal, and indeed because of that, you buy it fairly regularly and so you start to wonder what to do with it. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recommends beginning the season with the simplest recipes - simply cooked and served with very simple sauces, and then proceed to more complicated things, like this rather lovely looking (but simple) dish from Yotam Ottolenghi.

And you can do a huge number of things with asparagus. So I'm not planning to refer you to any recipes here - just browse the internet either by your favourite cooks or by the ingredient. Jamie Oliver, for example, has dozens of choices that range from simply cooked, a dip, pizza through to curries, pastas, risotto and stir fries. You can do just about anything with it really.

"It appeals to all the senses - smell, taste, sight and feel - and has a distinctive earthy and leafy flavour." Stephanie Alexander

It's very ancient - shown on Egyptian frescoes and much loved by the Romans and Greeks, from whom its name comes. According to Bert Greene 'aspharogos' means 'as long as one's throat.' But post the Romans, like Eliza Acton, it disappeared from view until the Renaissance when it resurfaced in the Veneto region of Italy where it is still a regional speciality. I wonder why it disappeared.

At various times it has been thought to be aphrodisiac - well it's very phallic in shape is it not? It's also been touted as a cure for bee stings and as a cure for toothache and poor eyesight. Today they think a chemical called asparagine which it contains helps to prevent the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body, although:

“Asparagine is frequently found in various animal sources including beef, poultry, eggs, fish and seafood. It is also found in many vegetables including asparagus, potatoes, nuts, legumes and soy. Since these foods are so common, it seems that diet restriction may not be the ideal approach,” Professor Keqiang Ye

They are looking into it though, and in the meantime it is a good source of various B vitamins and also vitamin K and minerals such as zinc. And yes, it can make your urine smell.

There are three main types and two slightly ambiguous ones. The three main ones are shown in the picture above - green, purple and white. The purple is almost redundant in a way as it loses most of its colour when cooked. And all three are actually the same plant - asparagus officinalis. It used to be part of the lily family but they have now changed their minds. But it is related to our dreaded bridal creeper. The white asparagus is white because as it grows they cover it with more earth until it is ready to crop. The white is not much found here, but in Europe they consider it the best, which most Australian cooks don't seem to understand. Nor, according to Stephanie Alexander do we know how to cook it.

"Australians in general do not understand white asparagus and expect to prepare and cook it in the the same way as the better-known green variety." Stephanie Alexander

Having now read a fair bit on the subject I would agree. I remember cooking a risotto in France once with white asparagus and it wasn't very good. Every time we go to France we eat a lot of asparagus, because we tend to be there when asparagus is 'in'. And it is mostly white. The asparagus I remember cooking was rather tough. But I now see that I should have peeled the stalks first as they are very tough. In fact there seem to be two camps on peeling asparagus in general, with some passionately for and some passionately against. I don't peel it, or wash it I have to confess. I simply break off the woody bits at the bottom and then cook it or slice it. But obviously I should have peeled the white asparagus. The method I now use for cooking asparagus is from Madhur Jaffrey of all people and it's very simple and works every time.

"1 tbsp olive oil, 450g asparagus, 1/4 tsp salt + 2 tsps toasted sesame oil (optional)

Put the olive oil in a large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the asparagus. Stir quickly to coat the asparagus with oil, using tongs to turn whole spears. Add 3 tbsp water and the salt. Cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 2-4 minutes, or until the asparagus is just cooked through. Remove the cover, add the sesame oil if you like its aroma and turn up the heat to boil away most of the liquid."

I don't add the sesame oil and I don't burn away the liquid - I just remove the asparagus with tongs. I also shake the pan from time to time whilst it's cooking. I find this method works pretty well.

Then there are two other 'varieties'. Well one is not a variety and the other is something completely different and therefore not really asparagus.

The first is 'wild asparagus' - which as one writer put it, is not wild but feral. Asparagus that has found its way into the wild. It tends to be thinner, not as straight and more straggly. You can buy it in markets in Europe and beside the road, but whether it is actually asparagus foraged from the wild or whether it is just skinny asparagus I really don't know. It is treasured for its delicate flavour though. I wonder can you cultivate wild asparagus? If left to itself asparagus grows ferny and has berries that are poisonous.

Then there's bruscandoli, which Elizabeth David talks about. She had a wonderful risotto in Venice which was presented as wild asparagus risotto, but which she later found was actually wild hop-shoots. Now I don't think you will ever find those here but when she was writing her piece in 1979 it was a big thing in Venice for a very short period - basically in April. You can sort of see the resemblance to 'wild asparagus' but its really not the same thing.

So rush out and buy some. It's on special now. Roasting or barbecuing it seems to be the done thing now. And we also eat it rather more al dente than we used to as well. It goes very well with eggs, cheese, lemons, smoked salmon and various kinds of bacon.