Article by Arthur David
British Asparagus is here! The harvesting season for asparagus in Britain generally runs from late April through till the end of June and we’ve begun seeing many varieties for sale, including wild asparagus, white and purple asparagus and of course the famous Wye Valley asparagus.
Somewhat of a national treasure, this healthy and extremely versatile vegetable can be used as part of, or as the focal point of countless dishes.
Let’s run through some of our favourite recipes using asparagus, along with cooking instructions and required ingredients so you can incorporate them into your menu or try making them at home. (Remember to wash your asparagus and cut off the hard ends before cooking!)
“Bacon Wrapped Asparagus With Poached Egg”
A real winner as a breakfast dish or light lunch – with just 4 components, this dish is simple and quick to make, but tastes great and certainly looks the part. This recipe also works just fine with a poached, fried or scrambled egg as opposed to a boiled one.
1. Start by wrapping your asparagus with bacon or parma ham if you prefer (heads optional)
2. If you can’t get the bacon to stay wrapped, use a cocktail stick to keep it in place
3. Set your asparagus on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and cook on a high heat (200c) for 15 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and the asparagus is starting to soften
4. Just before your asparagus is ready, boil your egg (a large egg will usually take 3-4 minutes)
5. Toast and butter thick sliced sourdough bread, assemble all components, season and serve.
“Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella and Asparagus Burger”
There’s a great blog post here on favourite gourmet burgers, but they definitely missed a trick leaving this one out. Like a gourmet meal in a bun – this is certainly one to try:
1. Start with the perfect burger bun – we recommend Hobbs House ultimate burger baps
2. Wrap your mozzarella in prosciutto and put under the grill for 5 minutes or when the cheese starts to melt completely
3. Fry off your burger, adding your asparagus stems for the last 4 minutes of cooking4. Pile into the bun as you please, top with fresh chives, serve with fries and coleslaw
4. Pile into the bun as you please, top with fresh chives, serve with fries and coleslaw
5. For a veggie alternative, replace your burger with a veggie one and substitute the prosciutto for fried wild mushrooms to maintain that taste to complement the mozzarella
“Grilled Rib Eye and Asparagus With Soy Sauce and Sesame Seeds”
This is a really exceptional combination, combining Asian flavours with classic British asparagus for a healthy and quick yet impressive dish that works well as a lunch or light dinner.
1. Season your steak on both sides with garlic, salt and pepper
2. Prepare your asparagus and cook both the asparagus and steak in an oiled griddle pan
3. Cooking time will be dependent on how you prefer your steak, for medium rare, cook for around 4 minutes – the asparagus can go in the same pan and will be ready at the same time
4. If you like your steak well done – allow the steak to have a 2-minute head start before adding your asparagus to the pan for a further 4 minutes
5. Serve your asparagus, slice your steak and lay on top of the asparagus
6. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and a drizzle of soy sauce and serve
“Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Eggs Benedict”
This alternative to the classic breakfast dish is a perfect treat for special breakfasts like Birthdays, Mother’s Day or just a lazy Sunday morning. We recommend boiling your asparagus for this recipe to keep all the flavour locked in.
1. Prep your asparagus and bring a pan of generously salted water to the boil and a separate pan for your poached egg
2. Boil your asparagus and get your poached egg on the go after about 2 minutes – these should both be ready after another 5 minutes
3. Drop your toast in the toaster, butter and top with smoked salmon. The combination of the poached egg, asparagus and toast will be enough to warm the salmon through without the need to heat it up
4. Drain your asparagus, and place on top of your salmon – top with your poached egg, season and serve
5. This recipe can also be finished off with a generous helping of warm hollandaise sauce
Asparagus Around The World
Asparagus is just as popular in various parts of the world as it is here, there are even several asparagus festivals set up to appreciate the vegetable, with the biggest one taking place in Oceana County, Michigan – strange but who are we to judge!
And whilst we may be accustomed to classic green asparagus, there are different variations of the vegetable worldwide. Across the channel in France, they cultivate a different variety of asparagus which is harvested a rich purple colour.
Over in Holland, asparagus is served in its white form, it grows like this because it’s cultivated underground meaning it stalks don’t undergo the photosynthesis process that would usually give it its colour.