Sunday, 10 May 2009

Sparrowgrass!

I discovered the pleasures of asparagus* some eight years ago, when I was on holiday in Dresden. I'd never really thought much about asparagus before, and certainly hadn't registered its coming into season as a noteworthy cultural event. But everywhere I went in Dresden, restaurants were advertising special 'Spargel' menus to take advantage of the new crop. (I even had to look up 'Spargel' in my German dictionary.)

Now I am a confirmed asparagus eater, and look forward to its arrival in the greengrocer's every year. I bought my first asparagus of the season last weekend, but ate it all before I thought to blog about it. (Half the bunch was eaten with bacon and white crusty bread for lunch; the other half formed the basis of an asparagus risotto at dinner.)

The asparagus pictured here is my second bunch of the season, purchased at Warwick market yesterday morning -- along with some Cotswold bacon and locally-baked bread. The asparagus season doesn't last long, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

*Formerly known as 'sperage' or 'sparrowgrass'. OED:
1865 ‘C. BEDE’ Rook's Gard., etc. 96, I have heard the word sparrowgrass from the lips of a real Lady -- but then she was in her seventies.
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6 comments:

  1. Biluś10 May 2009 at 12:24

    Mmm - any cooking/preparation tips?

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  2. Gillian10 May 2009 at 14:54

    I got the asparagus risotto recipe from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/asparagusrisotto_67550.shtml.

    Otherwise I just go for the obvious and steam the asparagus. Abby at Eat the Right Stuff recommends roasting, drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with smoked salt. I haven't tried this yet, but will.

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  3. Biluś10 May 2009 at 15:34

    Lovely, thanks! Abby's method sounds great, too - somehow that word 'drizzled' combined with 'olive oil' sounds soooo tasty :-)

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  4. Oliver Mason9 June 2009 at 13:50

    Another nice way of eating it is with melted butter. Add some finely grated bread crumbs to it to stop it from running away. Eat together with boiled potatoes and cold ham.

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  5. Oliver Mason9 June 2009 at 13:51

    Erm, I just noticed I already said all that in a comment to your other post... sorry for the duplication!

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  6. Gillian9 June 2009 at 13:57

    YOu can't get too much asparagus -- or too many recommendations of how to eat it. I'm already sadly anticipating the end of the season.

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