Asparagus, with its long, come-hither stalks and beguiling shades of green, white and purple has a long and regal history as both a culinary delight and medicinal must have (since it has excellent diuretic properties). When properly harvested and prepared its delicate flavor can take center stage in a main course or become a powerful back up player as a savory side dish.

Served around the world for nearly every meal except dessert the spring vegetable, which is harvested and eaten while it’s still in its young and tender shoot stage, is low in sodium and calories and an excellent source of dietary fiber. Asparagus is also a great source of Vitamin B6, as well as Vitamins A, C, E and K, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid. If that’s not enough dietary incentive the tasty shoots have protein and pack in a decent amount of iron and other important trace minerals as well.

It is said that the Apicius, a collection of Roman cooking recipes (as opposed to medicinal recipes) considered to have been compiled in the late 4^th or early 5t century A.D.  contains the oldest known written recipe for asparagus. The prestigious vegetable was also captured on an Egyptian frieze that dates back to 3000 B.C.E.

Today you’ll find asparagus is a fairly common ingredient in many Asian cuisines and is often used in a variety of stir-fry dishes. In Italy you’ll find it pickled for antipasti, baked into tortes, stirred into risotto or steamed and served with either a traditional Hollandaise or drizzled in herbed lemon butter and topped with a little grated Parmesan. Asparagus festivals span the globe, covering the U.S. and U.K. as well as Germany and South Africa.

When choosing your asparagus you want to pay attention to a few details:

*Look for straight, rounded stalks that are evenly colored

*Select firm stalks that are not at all wilted and do not have a strong odor

*Check that the tips are small and closed up; they should not be starting to bloom

*Choose stalks or bundles of stalks that are uniform in size (I prefer ‘the smaller the better’ school of thought, but others don’t mind the slightly stronger taste of larger stalks. If they are too big they will be wood and have an unpleasantly strong flavor). Uniformity will ensure even cooking time.

To steam your asparagus:

*Wash all the spears in cool water, paying special attention to the tip where sand can hide

*Cut roughly an inch off the bottom of the spear, the very bottoms can be woody and bitter

*The easiest way to steam the spears is to use kitchen string to tie them into little bundles of 8-10 stalks.

*Place them with the tips up in a double boiler or large, lidded stock pot

** if you use a double boiler fill the bottom part with the water /if using a stock pot add about 3inches of water to the pot to cover the bottom of the stalks

* I like to add sliced lemon to the water – it’s an optional step, one can also add peppercorns, bay leaf, garlic or onions to ‘perfume’ the water and lightly enhance the flavor the asparagus.

*Steam for 3-7 minutes until the stocks have turned bright green but still have ‘snap’ to them.

*Remove from heat, drain liquid and serve immediately or plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process if you’re going to be using it cold or as part of another dish. Remove from cold water as soon as the asparagus is chilled pat dry with a towel and refrigerate until it’s time to use it.

* To roast asparagus, preheat oven to 400 degrees, clean and trim as above then lay on a heavy baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast until the spears are starting to get tender, about 15 minutes, serve immediately or allow to cool to room temperature on racks.

As mentioned above, a quick and simple way to serve warm asparagus is to melt two tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan and allow it to melt (I like to lay a small piece of bay leaf in the butter while it melts slowly). Add the juice of one lemon, mix well over the heat for about 30 seconds and drizzle over the steamed, hot asparagus. Top with cracked black pepper, a little lemon zest and some freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese.

Want to skip the fat? Skip the butter and cheese by drizzling the hot asparagus with lemon juice and top with pepper and toasted, ground walnuts or hazelnuts.

If you’re looking for a fast and fancy appetizer you can wrap cold, steamed asparagus (or room temp roasted) with paper thin slices of prosciutto. Serve on a platter with some shaved Asiago cheese.

Asparagus is remarkably versatile and a vegetable well worth getting to know well – happy eating!

Please note we will have additional recipes featuring asparagus up in our recipe section; please check back often and feel free to join us on facebook so you never miss a recipe or tip.

Roasted Chicken Asparagus Salad