Gill on Asparagus

Whether you steam, roast, char-grill or (if the weathers good) barbeque it, good asparagus deserves to be the star on the plate.

Really fresh spears need only steaming or boiling for a few minutes before serving with melted butter, black pepper and salt - it’s the asparagus you want to taste. Based on this simple approach, here are a few recipes - or rather suggestions - where I think the asparagus does the talking. They all serve 2 people.

Ingredients:

Asparagus with salt, pepper, butter and a poached hen egg.
2 hen eggs
12 asparagus spears, trimmed
Maldon sea salt
black pepper
100g butter

NB: Getting good fresh eggs is almost as important as getting good fresh asparagus.

Bring one large pan and one small pan of water to the boil.

Plunge the asparagus spears into the large pan and gently crack the eggs in to the other pan.

Fresh asparagus only needs cooking for about the same time as the eggs - 4 mins on a very gentle simmer.

Place the cooked asparagus onto warmed plates, add the poached egg and season the whole lot with melted butter, black pepper, and Maldon sea salt.

Asparagus with St George mushrooms

12 asparagus spears, trimmed a small basket of St George mushrooms
olive oil
100g butter
Maldon sea salt
black pepper

The St George mushroom is one of our first wild fungi of the year. As luck would have it, it coincides perfectly with the British asparagus season. (If you’re not a forager – or aren’t lucky enough to know one - try asparagus with your favourite mushrooms).

Clean, trim and half the mushrooms (or quarter them if they’re large) Sautee the mushrooms for about 5 minutes in a little olive oil Steam the spears for 4 mins – either in a conventional steamer or by standing the spears up in 3 inches of water and covering the pan with a lid.

Add the steamed spears to the mushroom pan, add the butter and season with salt and pepper.

Toss around once or twice and serve at once onto warmed plates.

Asparagus and crab

12 asparagus spears, trimmed
1 live 2 - 3 lb brown cock crab (make sure your crab is fresh, has all its claws and is heavy for its size).
1 lemon
Maldon sea salt
black pepper
olive oil.

Crab and asparagus is, in my mind, a fantastic combo. I make a puff pastry tart with crab, asparagus, double cream and egg yolks - it’s too good. But as simplicity is the order of the day, here’s the crab/asparagus combination in its most basic form.

Wash the crab and place in a large pan of fresh water. Bring to the boil and boil for approximately 20 - 25 mins. Allow the cooked crab to cool slightly before picking the white meat from the claws and the brown meat from the shell.

Toss the asparagus in a little olive oil and place on a sizzling griddle pan set over a high heat. Cook for 3 or 4 mins turning once or twice. Allow the spears to take on a bit of colour.

Spoon a pile of the crab-meat onto a warm plate and add the char-grilled spears.

Season the whole lot with lemon juice, Maldon sea salt and black pepper.