I don't know about you, but over winter I forget about one of the loveliest vegetables around - asparagus.
It's available in the summer, but as soon as I start noticing it again about this time of year I suddenly remember that I want to eat it all the time - sort of like kale in the winter for me.
Asparagus season is roughly about eight weeks long, so you better get in there and start appreciating those little spears before it's too late.
An interesting fact about asparagus I didn't know but find pretty awesome is that it is a member of the lily family. That doesn't surprise me as its one of the most beautiful vegetables and wouldn't look out of place in a vase on display. Anyway, enough of me talking about how amazing asparagus is...
Asparagus is widely grown in the UK but only a few growers up here in Scotland have it available. I guess the climate up here does lean itself to hardier vegetables not unlike us Scots - it takes a strong person to handle the four seasons in day weather!
I was lucky enough to get a delivery of Scottish-grown asparagus from Barnhill Asparagus and what an amazing sight it was, nothing like the huge chunky spears you get in shop bought bunches but long, tender, mixed sized and shaped ones.
After working in an organic food wholesaler for years and appreciating the real shapes and sizes fruit and veg comes in, I like a bit of variety on my plate and don't want to see uniformed clones, so I couldn't wait to get these little beauties griddled and eaten.
The only option for me to pair with asparagus is hollandaise: it would be rude not to!
Firstly you want to gently clean any dirt off the asparagus (I use a clean soft brush for this), then firmly snap off each stalk end at the point it feels like it will break with ease.
I like to gently toss the asparagus with lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper and let sit whilst you heat your griddle pan and make your hollandaise.
Ingredients
225g of silken tofu
1 tbsp of nutritional yeast flakes
2 tbsp of lemon juice
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of turmeric
2 large bunches of asparagus
Method
1 Warm the drained silken tofu either in a microwave for 30 seconds or in the oven 2 at a low temperature until it is slightly softened
2 Pop in a blender and pulse until its smooth, then start adding your other ingredients minus the oil and pulse to mix thoroughly
3 Now gently pour in the oil and blend until it starts to thicken and looks nice and smooth
4 Taste and if it needs a little extra kick of lemon or a touch more salt try and do it at this point so you can blend it again.
5 Now the griddle pan should be nice and hot and ready for the asparagus - I know most folk like to go with the gentler cooking method of steaming for asparagus but I think the smokiness of griddling really is my favourite way of cooking it (just be careful as not to burn the spears, so not too hot but hot enough to be able to stand the heat for at least a few minutes).
6 Keep an eye out and turn when one side is starting to look like it's got lovely crisp marks on it.
7 When both sides are cooked, set the asparagus out on a big plate. The combined heat with keep them warm and soften a little more.
8 Add another splash of lemon, a little more salt and pepper and drizzle that lovely warm hollandaise all over them.
I wouldn't even bother with cutlery for this, just a few napkins will do, and a nice cold glass of something fizzy, of course...
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