Asparagus

In season: spring

Asparagus has one of the shortest, most celebrated seasons of any vegetable, a matter of weeks in late spring. That brevity is the point: eating it now, from a local grower, is seasonal eating at its most rewarding. Out of season it’s flown across the world and a shadow of itself.

Why it fits the season

Spring, in both Ayurveda and TCM, is a time of gentle lightening after the heavier food of winter. Asparagus is perfect for it, light, faintly bitter, and traditionally considered cleansing and diuretic. It’s rich in folate, vitamin K and inulin, a prebiotic fibre that feeds the gut bacteria we’re increasingly learning to look after.

Choosing & keeping

• Look for firm, straight spears with tight, dry tips. Limp or slimy tips mean it’s past its best.
• Store it like flowers: stand the stems in a little water in the fridge, or wrap the ends in a damp cloth. Eat within a couple of days.
• Thin vs. thick is about preference, not quality, thick spears are meatier, thin ones cook in seconds.

Simple ways to enjoy it

• Roasted or griddled with olive oil and salt until just tender, with a squeeze of lemon, the tips going crisp.
• Barely blanched and dressed while warm, so it keeps its snap.
• Folded through a spring risotto, frittata or grain bowl at the very end.

Snap, don’t cut: hold each spear and bend, it breaks naturally where the woody end gives way to the tender stalk.