Asparagus

[ms.peachy]

Okay, I realise this may come too late for some of you, depending on your regional growing season, but yesterday the farmers market here in London was groaning under the weight of the plentitude of that gorgeous and precious commodity that makes itself bountiful but once a year, tender asparagus.

So I bought an armload, and whilst some will go towards making a delicious cream of asparagus soup, tonight I have made a quick dish of asparagus vinaigrette (which will accompany our grilled swordfish and rice pilaf nicely), which I will share with you now.

Make the vinaigrette first. I was feeling adventurous so I used a splash of each of the vinegars I had on hand - balsamic, plain white, red wine, cider and japanese rice - with about 1/4 cup of olive oil, put into a (washed) empty little water bottle. I chopped up some fresh tarragon (but you could probably use almost any fresh garden herb) and ground some mustard seed, and threw that in with some salt and pepper, and a minced clove of garlic.

Shake well.

Steam the aspargus to crisp-tender and then lay flat in a dish. While it is still hot, pour the vinaigrette over and make sure each spear gets coated. Stick it in the fridge to cool for an hour or so (which is what mine is doing now as I write this.)

When you are ready to serve, if you are wanting to 'present' it and have it look all flash and shit, you can lay the spears out on a bed of Romaine leaves or other lettuce, and garnish with some grated or sliced radish and some tiny tomatoes, then drizzle some of the vinaigrette from the dish over them.

Then see how long it takes before your pee starts smelling funny.

[Parkey]

Top marks ms. peachy! Which market do you frequent?

[ms.peachy]

Which market do you frequent?

Borough, of course. I am a trendy food snob :D

Seriously though. Many lovely markets around town, and all worth a visit, but I do love Borough Market. I know it is very 'of the moment, at the moment' but it is fantastic. We go maybe every other week - we'll get a lot of our regular groceries Ocado'd from Waitrose (god I love the internet) and then go to Borough and buy loads of fresh veg and good meats. I really like the idea of being able to buy directly from small, independent British farmers/producers.

[Parkey]

Borough, of course. I am a trendy food snob :D

Seriously though. Many lovely markets around town, and all worth a visit, but I do love Borough Market. I know it is very 'of the moment, at the moment' but it is fantastic. We go maybe every other week - we'll get a lot of our regular groceries Ocado'd from Waitrose (god I love the internet) and then go to Borough and buy loads of fresh veg and good meats. I really like the idea of being able to buy directly from small, independent British farmers/producers.

I love Borough market, I was there last week in fact. Whenever I go I always have one of those Pita Breads from under the bridge. They rule!

[Parkey]

Borough, of course. I am a trendy food snob :D

Seriously though. Many lovely markets around town, and all worth a visit, but I do love Borough Market. I know it is very 'of the moment, at the moment' but it is fantastic. We go maybe every other week - we'll get a lot of our regular groceries Ocado'd from Waitrose (god I love the internet) and then go to Borough and buy loads of fresh veg and good meats. I really like the idea of being able to buy directly from small, independent British farmers/producers.
And I agree with the trendy evaluation. It's even got its own Banksy stencil down there now!

[jabumbo]

i absolutely love asparagus....

i wish i could eat it more...occasionally my mom will but it, but not too often. she gets alot of frozen stuff though, which isnt too bad, but nothing compared to it fresh...

when you say stick it in the fridge, that emans your eating it cold? i prefer mine a little warm..

[ms.peachy]

when you say stick it in the fridge, that emans your eating it cold? i prefer mine a little warm..

In this case I was intending to serve it as a cold side dish (in lieu of a salad). However I see no reason why it couldn't be served warm; you'd just have to gently heat the vinaigrette as the asparagus is steaming and then serve immediately is the only difference.

[b-grrrlie]

I grow my own asparagus! :D
I planted them four years ago and this year finally could harvest the first ones! You can only guess how good they tasted! Been able to harvest a couple every week, can't wait 'till next year when I can do a proper harvest!