Like many cooks and eaters, I am thrilled when I spy the first bunch of seasonal, local asparagus. Hadley Grass — so called because of the historic prominence of this plant in the Pioneer Valley — is also known as Spearage, Sparrow Grass, Garden Asparagus, and Asparagus Officinalis.
In my opinion, it is our duty as lovers of nutrition and of the local soil to eat asparagus every single day when it is in season. The fact that asparagus is my favorite vegetable turns this duty into a pleasure.
Asparagus is a food full of history, beloved of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
The Roman naturalist, philosopher, and soldier Pliny the Elder (23-79) believed that concoctions of asparagus cured any number of ills and that a paste made with it could even prevent bee stings.
The shape of asparagus prompted many cultures to believe that it was an aphrodisiac. Its benefits along these lines were touted both in the “Kama Sutra” and in an Arab sex manual titled “The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delights.”
In Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, asparagus was often reserved for the aristocracy. Madame de Pompadour (1721-1764), the notorious mistress of the French King Louis XV, loved to serve and eat white asparagus with purple tips.
Her recipe (or rather that of her chef) involved using only the most tender ends of the asparagus and serving it in an egg-yolk based sauce similar to Hollandaise.
Eventually, common folk began to cultivate and eat asparagus. It was brought to the Americas by Dutch and English colonists, who found that it grew beautifully in the New World.
Most American asparagus is grown in California, Michigan, and Washington. Nevertheless, what we get here in season is superior.
This superiority stems in part from the qualities of our local soil and the experience of our farmers. It also comes from the very freshness of the green spears, however. To eat asparagus on the day of its harvest is a joy and a privilege.
Not all cooks agree on the best method of trimming asparagus. I tend to break off the ends where they seem to want to break when I snap them. Some call this wasteful and argue that one should cut the spears judiciously or just trim the very ends and peel the bottoms of the spears to get rid of the “woody” exterior.
To me, both of those methods are way too much work. If I’m feeling guilty about composting the ends of the spears, I can always use them to make stock. I tend not to feel guilty, however.
To cook my asparagus, I generally start by blanching it in boiling water for a few minutes. Exactly how many minutes depends on the relative freshness of the asparagus; I check it frequently while it cooking.
It is ready when the color is bright green and the consistency is barely fork tender. I drain it and pop ice into the colander to keep the asparagus from cooking longer.
I store blanched spears in the refrigerator in season. I add them to sandwiches and salads. Sometimes I make a quesadilla or a pizza. Sometimes I just snack on them. Madame de Pompadour decreed that asparagus should be served with a spoon but eaten with a fork. I prefer to eat it with my immaculately clean fingers.
The recipe below uses asparagus in a basic vegetarian quiche.
Pretty much everything in the recipe is flexible. As I indicate, you may use any cheese you like. I just happened to have cheddar in the house this week so that’s what I used. If you, like my late mother, don’t believe a meal is a meal unless it includes meat, a little chopped ham or bacon may be added.
Of course, a few herbs don’t hurt, either. I tend to throw in some chives since my chive plants are just now flourishing. It’s up to you.
I find it convenient to chop the asparagus into bite-size pieces, but the quiche is quite lovely when you use whole spears. It’s just a tad harder to slice.
Ingredients:
1 splash of extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, slivered
1/2 chopped red or orange bell pepper
1 pinch salt
2-1/2 cups (or a little more) blanched asparagus pieces
4 eggs
2/3 cup cream
3/4 teaspoon Creole seasoning (a little more if you like)
5 to 6 ounces shredded or crumbled cheese—Cheddar, Swiss, blue, and/or whatever you have on hand.
1 9-inch pie shell
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet heat the oil, and sauté the garlic slivers and the bell pepper pieces in it briefly. Add the salt, followed by the asparagus. Toss to combine the vegetables. Remove the pan from the heat.
In a bowl whisk together the eggs, the cream, and the seasoning.
Sprinkle two thirds of the cheese over the pie crust. Top the cheese with the vegetables; then pour on the cream/egg custard, and top with the remaining cheese.
Place the quiche on a rimmed cookie sheet to prevent spillage, and bake it for about 40 minutes, until the custard is set and the top is golden. Let the quiche cool for 10 to 20 minutes before you serve it. (This makes it easier to slice.) Serves 4 to 6, depending on appetite.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning author and singer. Her next cookbook will be “Pot Luck: Random Acts of Cooking.” Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.