In Season: Asparagus

Jun 13 2008

NAME one thing we Brits do best…Asparagus. Hailed by leading chefs as the best in the world, make sure you don’t miss out on its relatively short season of just seven to eight wonderful weeks (from May 1 to the end of June).

There are numerous ways to taste British asparagus and when it’s on the shelves, there’s absolutely no reason why this highly nutricious "superfood" can’t be enjoyed two or three times a week in many recipes.

How about a lazy Sunday brunch of scrambled eggs topped with melt-in-the-mouth asparagus spears tossed in butter? Or a light lunch of asparagus, bacon and poached egg salad with a mustard dressing? Asparagus is so versatile and it can be enjoyed by everyone – the young, the old, families, the health-conscious and pregnant women alike.

The following recipes come from a huge slection featured on www.british-asparagus.co.uk.

Cream of Asparagus Soup with Poached Egg (serves 4)

INGREDIENTS –: 2 bundles British asparagus, trimmed; 1 leek, washed and trimmed; 50g Butter; 400ml vegetable or chicken stock; 1 tbsp double cream; 1 tbsp olive oil; 4 medium eggs, poached.

METHOD – Cut the asparagus into 3cm lengths. Reserve the tips and set aside. Halve the leek lengthways and cut into 1 cm pieces. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the leek and asparagus. Sauté for three minutes, until the vegetables are starting to soften. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, until asparagus is soft and cooked through.

Blend the soup in a food processor or with a hand blender, until smooth. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper and return to the pan. Add the double cream and warm through.

Meanwhile, toss the asparagus tips in the olive oil, and heat a ridged griddle pan. Griddle the asparagus for two minutes. Serve the soup in warmed soup bowls, topping each bowl with a lightly poached egg and some asparagus tips.

HOT TIPS – When poaching the eggs put them into boiling salted water with a dash of vinegar as this helps to keep the egg together. The eggs can be poached in advanced and placed into a bowl of cold water then when the eggs are required they can be dropped back into boiling water.

Griddled Asparagus and Fillet Steak Salad with Horseradish Dressing

INGREDIENTS (to serve 4) – 2 bundles British asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2cm lengths; 4 x 200g fillet steaks; 12 cherry tomatoes, halved; 2 handfuls rocket leaves; Half a cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into 3cm batons; 2 tbsp olive oil.

Horseradish Dressing: 4 tbsp creamed horseradish; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp white wine vinegar; ½ tsp caster sugar.

METHOD – Heat a griddle pan or heavy based frying pan with one tablespoon of olive oil. Griddle the asparagus for 3 - 4 minutes, making sure that it doesn’t brown too much. Remove from the pan and reserve. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and fry the steaks for 2 - 3 minutes on each side depending on how rare you like them. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix all the horseradish dressing ingredients together then assemble the asparagus, cherry tomatoes, rocket and cucumber in piles on four serving plates. Slice the steak into five pieces and place on top of the salad, and finally spoon over the horseradish dressing and season to taste.

HOT TIPS – To reduce costs you could use rump or ribeye instead of fillet steak.