Stalking asparagus
The spring into a new season heralds the return of market fresh flavours. We can all bid adieu to cabbage and the brassica family for a while, and be on the lookout for anything sprout-y, herb-y and green.
Thanks to the Penticton Farmers Market for getting us started with big bags of sprouts, healthy bunches of dill and fresh Asian braising greens. They’re all welcome additions to the salad bowl and sauté pan right now. And I’ve started to forage my own garden patch for first-of-theseason chives, sorrel, oregano and tarragon, added in to salad dressings or omelettes.
One wonderful vegetable that celebrates spring in true form, is the return of local asparagus. Asparagus officinalis, is a perennial flowering plant, and is widely cultivated as a vegetable crop. Thrusting its presence onto the Okanagan farmscape, asparagus will be popping up at many farm stands and market stalls over the coming weeks. Its just-been-picked allure beckons with a clean, green and fresh taste.
In the meantime, we can take advantage of the imported spears readily available. Look for smooth and shiny green stalks with tight tips. And don’t be afraid of thicker stalks. They might take a tad longer to cook but they’re a bit sweeter than their skinny sisters, and they look lovely when you peel the bottom part of the stalk before cooking. (Save those shaved off bits for a vegetable stock.)
I have also seen the white varieties, called spargel in German — a great word! — a celebrated variety throughout Europe. They’re thick, earthy and meaty, and are white because of soil being hilled up around the crowns, blocking sunlight.
Asparagus lends itself to many cooking treatments, and can work for any meal of the day. It’s a beautiful snack, quickly steamed or blanched, served with a drizzle of fruity olive oil, a sprinkle of good salt and eaten with one's fingers. It’s also terrific when each spear is wrapped in a thin slice of jamon serrano.
Asparagus makes a lovely first course – served as finger food (or with knife and fork) with a side of hollandaise for dipping, or sautéed into a breakfast or lunch omelette, fritatta or quiche. Roasting on the grill is an option too, for a side dish, just don’t’ scorch the living daylights out of it. A little char is all that’s needed to take it next level.
Over the past weekend, in celebration of Earth Day, and National Asparagus Day, I celebrated the great seasonal asparagus with three different treatments. The spargel, or white asparagus, was first blanched and drizzled with a hazelnut-dijon vinaigrette, sprinkled with lively freshly chopped chives and the addition of thinly sliced prosciutto.
Next, a fritatta or crustless quiche, with sautéd red onion, fresh oregano, spinach and asparagus stalks, eggs, and gruyere cheese — topped decoratively with green spears and finished in the oven at 350 F.
The grand finale was a dish of thin spears of green asparagus, blanched and cooled, tossed with a light vinaigrette and topped mimosa-style, meaning hard-boiled eggs – the whites and yolks chopped separately. The ménage a trois made for a spectacular Sunday brunch in the spring sunshine. The only thing missing? A glass of wine.
There’s been much speculation as to how to pair asparagus with wine, so I turned to an expert, Katherine McEachnie, a wine educator at the BC VQA Wine Info Centre, and Okanagan College. She looks to Sauvignon Blanc, especially those from our cooler climates. It’s a varietal that is often described as herbaceous, grassy and vegetal, which mirrors asparagus’s green grassy notes. So look for any of the sauvignon blancs from our region or those from the Loire Valley in France.
However you cook it or pair it, green or white, don’t miss a chance to celebrate its seasonal bounty this spring. With fork and pen in hand, and a passion for culinary adventure, Shelora Sheldan, writer, cook and curious traveller, goes in search of the delectable.