There is a moment every spring — usually somewhere between the first warm week and the last frost — when asparagus appears at the market and everything else loses its urgency. The spears come up fast, and they go even faster. You have perhaps six weeks, sometimes less. Use them well.
Choosing Your Spears
Thickness is a matter of preference, not quality. Thin spears are tender and cook in minutes; thick ones have a meatier bite and hold up beautifully to roasting. What you want to avoid is any spear that has gone soft at the tip or feels hollow when you snap it. The cut end should be moist, not dried out — a sure sign it was harvested recently.
Green is the most common, but do seek out white and purple varieties when you find them. White asparagus, grown under mounds of soil away from sunlight, has a milder, almost nutty flavour that pairs wonderfully with butter, egg, and ham. Purple asparagus turns green when cooked but has a slightly sweeter taste raw.
The Simplest Preparations
When asparagus is at its peak, it needs almost nothing. A hot cast iron pan, a drizzle of good olive oil, salt, and five minutes of heat — that is a complete meal alongside a soft-boiled egg. The charred tips add bitterness that balances the sweetness in the stalk perfectly.
Shaving raw asparagus over a bowl of dressed greens is something everyone should try at least once. Use a vegetable peeler to create long ribbons, dress with lemon, good olive oil, shaved parmesan, and cracked pepper. The rawness brings out a green grassy note you never get when it’s cooked.
Pairings Worth Knowing
Asparagus has strong natural affinities: eggs in any form (the yolk’s richness balances the vegetable’s slight bitterness), butter (browned or otherwise), lemon, tarragon, hollandaise, and anything smoked. It is also one of the few vegetables that makes wine pairing genuinely difficult — the same asparagus acids that make it taste bright can make wine taste metallic. Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Alsatian Riesling tend to hold up best.
Buy more than you think you need. Blanch and freeze what you can’t use in three days. And when the season ends — let it end. The asparagus you eat in October is not the same vegetable.