Asparagus wild or not — delicious
THE spring round of village festivals is now well under way, each of them dedicated to some local plant or produce. This weekend’s event is the Ayrelli Festival at Akdeniz, in honour of the local asparagus season.
Wild asparagus (known here as “ayrelli”) is a popular foraged plant throughout the eastern Mediterranean region. Each time I have driven past the Hisarköy road end over the past couple of weeks, there has been a man sitting there, selling bunches of ayrelli. Wild asparagus spears are much thinner than their cultivated counterparts and the flavour is more bitter. Technically, asparagus of any kind is called “kuşkonmaz” in Turkish, which translates as “birds cannot perch” — a name that probably originates with the whip-like wild variety rather than the more substantial cultivated kind.
I’ve also seen bundles of fresh asparagus in some supermarkets over the past few days, some of which was definitely the plump cultivated kind rather than thin ayrelli, so it is worth shopping around if you are a fan.
We have a couple of clumps of asparagus in the garden, which did very well last year. When we checked them midweek, they too were starting to throw up spears, so we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on them from now on.
Don’t try to steam ayrelli spears and serve them dripping in butter or Hollandaise sauce; it just doesn’t work. Ingredients that do go well with wild asparagus include nuttyflavoured cheeses such as delikli and parmesan, bacon, prosciutto, cream, eggs, butter, herbs such as thyme and basil, sourdough breads, and wheat and grains, including arborio rice, quinoa and farro. You may struggle to find farro here but there seems to be plenty of quinoa around these days.
Asparagus is one of the most nutritionally well-balanced vegetables, supplying significant amounts of a wide variety of nutrients, including folic acid, potassium and vitamin B6. Various species of asparagus were cultivated by the Ancient Egyptians as long ago as 3000BC and it was prized as a foodstuff by both the early Greeks and Romans.
When buying asparagus, always choose stems that are firm and fresh-looking rather than limp and wrinkly, and try to buy stalks that are uniformly thick so that they cook evenly. If you are using whole spears, make sure the buds are tightly furled. Tips that are starting to open up and spread are an indicator of age, but tight tips are not so important if you are going to blend the asparagus into soup. If you are not going to use the spears immediately, trim a centimetre off the bottom and store them in a jug of cold water in a cool place.
Contrary to general belief, you don’t need a special steamer to cook asparagus successfully. The results will be just as good if you wash the spears thoroughly in a sink full of cold water, then trim the stalks, and cook the loose spears in a pan of boiling water until just tender (about three to five minutes, depending on thickness). Drain well and pat dry on kitchen towel. If you are serving it cold, eg in a salad, the flavour will be better if you spread the hot asparagus out to cool on more kitchen paper, rather than try to cool it under the cold tap.
The most popular way of preparing wild asparagus is to chop it up and cook it with lightly scrambled eggs. If you would like to try something slightly different, here is another option.
WILD ASPARAGUS WITH EGGS (YUMURTALI AYRELLİ)
For each person, allow a mediumsized boiled potato, a handful of ayrelli, one egg, a spoonful of black olives, oil for frying, and salt and pepper to taste.
Chop the potato into small chunks and fry in hot oil until beginning to colour. Snap the ayrelli spears into pieces about 34cm long, discarding the tough bottom bits. Add the pieces to the pan and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly so that nothing sticks to the pan. Push the now-golden potatoes to one side and carefully crack each egg into the pan so that the white flows over the ayrelli and the yolk stays intact. Add the black olives and season well. Once the egg is fried to your liking, serve hot, garnished with sliced tomato.
In fact, lightly sautéed wild asparagus goes well in all sorts of egg dishes; try wild asparagus and mushroom frittata as a lunch or supper dish. If you like kedgeree, try using salmon instead of smoked haddock, and stir some pieces of asparagus through the rice, fish and egg mixture just before serving.
ASPARAGUS FRITTERS (AYRELLİ MÜCVER)
1 small bunch of asparagus, trimmed and chopped 2 tablespoons sweetcorn kernels, defrosted if frozen
2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced 25g delikli cheese (or parmesan), grated
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour Salt, black pepper and chilli flakes (pul biber) 1-2 tablespoons yoghurt
Mix the asparagus, sweetcorn, spring onions and cheese together in a bowl, break in the egg and stir to combine. Add the flour and season well, then gently stir in enough yoghurt to make a thick batter. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and dollop in large (but well-spaced) spoonfuls of the mixture. There should be enough for four good-sized fritters or several smaller ones. Cook for a few minutes, until bubbles begin to appear on the surface, then carefully turn the fritters over and cook on the other side for another couple of minutes, until cooked through.
Serve hot, with crispy bacon or grilled hellim and a tangy tomato relish, or just a simple salad if you prefer.
If you like a green vegetable with your meals, this week’s final recipe is delicious. If you don’t have access to really fresh peas, use frozen ones. They are quick and convenient, and more nutritious than “fresh” peas that have been lurking on a shop shelf for a week. If you do use fresh peas, blanch them in boiling water for a couple of minutes before sautéing.
ASPARAGUS AND PEAS
20g unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped 6 asparagus spears, cut on the diagonal into 3cm pieces 100g peas, defrosted if frozen 2 or 3 mint leaves, finely chopped Freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the onion and cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent.
Tip in the asparagus and continue cooking for about five minutes, still stirring, until it is tender but still slightly al dente. Add the peas and the mint, increase the heat a little and sauté for a couple of minutes, until the peas are hot through. Season with freshly ground pepper just before serving.
The above two recipes are geared to two portions; just scale up if you need more.