Asparagus Season
Steamed asparagus with parmesan
One of the best times of the year is asparagus season. I absolutely LOVE asparagus and always look forward to the very short season. Because it is so short I always feel like I need to fully indulge in before it ends. Last week the butchers had local asparagus which tastes so unbelievably good that I’ve thought of little else. Today I just couldn’t resist so returned to buy an abundance of it.
Two of the nicest (not to mention simplest) things to do with asparagus is to simply steam (I find the microwave cooks asparagus perfectly), with some good quality olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and shavings of parmesan. So simple, so easy to prepare, so quick and so so delicious. Or, once steamed, wrap pancetta around the spears and either pan fry or put it on the braai (bbq) and cook until the pancetta is super crispy. With both dishes the salty hit against the asparagus really works perfectly.
Another favourite asparagus dish is risotto which was perfect for when it was cold and rainy the week before last or even when you just feel in need of TLC. I do really love risotto, it so comforting and warming.
We also made a squash ravioli with walnut and asparagus which was SO good. We cheated and bought the squash ravioli as it was a mid-week meal but even so it was amazing. Yes you can make your own ravioli but lets be honest, after a long day at work who wants to go to the bother.
Last week I had the worst week at the day job than I have had in many, many years. Tuesday I had such a bad day I didn’t want to even eat let alone cook. Of course this meant Wednesday when things were more resolved and the pressure was easing I had a real hunger and obsessed about food all afternoon.
I had another bunch of asparagus and was pondering what to make. I make this gorgeous pea, asparagus, and bean salad and a chance sighting of a quiche made me think how good a pea and asparagus quiche would be.
Butternut ravioli chicken asparagus burnt butter
Pea and asparagus quiche
I liked the idea of a pea custard, some strong cheddar and asparagus throughout the smooth custard. One thing I am not so keen on is overcooked asparagus and unfortunately with most asparagus quiches by the time the custard is set the asparagus is woefully overcooked. To combat this I thought what I would do is put the quiche minus the asparagus into the oven to slightly set so that the asparagus would not overcook or sink to the bottom and then after 5-ish minutes I would put the asparagus in. In principle that sounded perfect but in reality I forgot the time and the custard had set just a little too much by the time I did remember so I steamed the asparagus and then placed it on the top of the quiche in the oven for 5 mins and it was gorgeous.
As with all my new recipes I cooked again to test and put the asparagus in after 5 mins but we actually preferred it with the asparagus piled on top as it was fresher and the crunch worked so well. All you need then is a simple salad. Delicious.
There is a neat little trick to making sure you remove all of the tough ‘woody’ part of the asparagus. Hold the asparagus firmly at the bottom and just below the tip and bend the asparagus until it snaps, it will snap at the perfect point, removing all the tough stalk. If you want after snapping you can trim the very bottom so it looks super neat but that is by no means essential.
Pea and asparagus quiche