|
ODE TO ASPARAGUS It's the season of spring green - the delicate and beautiful vegetables that come in like hope with the longer, warmer days: Irish peas, artichokes, fennel, fava beans if you're crazy enough to peel each and every one, fresh limas, and above all, asparagus. Glorious, delicious asparagus appears to be everyone's favorite vegetable now. No one can argue with the aesthetics of asparagus. Slender stalks or fat, bright green or overprotected creamy white, they all look fabulous. However, unlike artichokes which need serious pruning, or peas which must be shelled (and let's not even talk about the favas), the elegant asparagus is adaptable and very easy to prepare. In fact, it can be eaten with no preparation at all. I like to cut raw asparagus into thin, diagonal slices and toss it into my salads. It's especially good combined with endive and radicchio, and finished with some large shavings of Parmesan and a simple vinaigrette. One step up the prep scale is steamed asparagus. Thick stalks, trimmed and steamed until just tender but firm, are superb dressed with a drizzle of fruity olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Nothing else is needed. With asparagus, as with many spring vegetables, the key is not to overcomplicate things. Their flavors are not aggressive, and shouldn't be masked with elaborate layers of other ingredients. Roasted asparagus is another favorite of mine. The ingredients are pretty much the same - asparagus, olive oil and salt, with an optional drop of lemon juice at the end. The technique, of course, is very different. For roasting I prefer the thinner asparagus that comes from younger plants. I wash and trim it, drizzle a couple tablespoons of excellent olive oil over it, roll it around with my hands until the stalks are evenly coated, and sprinkle it lightly with salt. Then I spread the stalks on a baking sheet and roast them in a hot oven - about 400° - for 20 or 30 minutes. Very, very slender stalks could be ready in a shorter time, and I check them after 10 or 15 minutes when I move them around. I like my roasted asparagus rather crispy. It gets golden brown in spot, and develops a lovely, toasty flavor. It's a great finger food to serve at the beginning of a casual meal. Over the years I've made more complex dishes with asparagus, too: soups, frittatas, stir-fries, and even a fancy roulade. (The recipes can be found in my books, or here on this website.) Asparagus combines well with eggs, cream, delicate cheeses, pasta and rice. These are all foods that are mild enough not to dominate and drown out the essential asparagus of it all. Other good partners are leeks, new potatoes, and mushrooms - asparagus with morels is a marriage made in culinary heaven. Lemon and dill, however, are the two flavors that leap to mind first when thinking of asparagus. A few years ago I saw a wonderful and easy recipe in Gourmet magazine for a pasta dish with asparagus and lemon. It sounded like an idea that could be adapted to a nice spring risotto, so as the markets started overflowing with the new asparagus crop, I tried it out. I made a simple puree from the stalks and some lemon zest, and stirred it into the risotto early in the cooking process. The lightly cooked asparagus tips were added near the end, along with a squirt of lemon juice. I finished it with some Parmesan, but it would also be divine with a spoonful of mascarpone. It was a beautiful, pale green risotto, and I put a few reserved asparagus tips on top of each serving, then sprinkled a little chopped fresh dill over it. With a glass of fruity white wine and some Gaviota strawberries for dessert, I had what I considered a perfect spring supper. Look for the risotto in this month's "New Recipes", as well as a cold asparagus soup that you will enjoy as the weather gets hotter.
|