Green asparagus at its best

Long time no post. But there was a conference to be run, job applications to be written and a parent to be shown around town. All done now. And I'm back to cooking.

After an (unfortunately not so brief) period of cold, windy, wet weather, spring has finally returned. And it brought not only rhubarb and strawberries but also the most wonderful, marvellous, extraordinary spring vegetable which goes by the name asparagus. Contrary to most people, I'm not a huge fan of white asparagus. I can only stand it with plenty of sauce hollandaise but that would make me go up a couple of dress sizes, so: thanks, but no thanks. White asparagus and me won't become close friends anytime soon. It's ligneous and wobbly and watery and tastes... ...unpleasant. Not at all like its green brother which I love to oblivion. It is crisp and pretty and tasty and you don't have to peel it. Always a big plus.

And although I have a large collection of different recipes for green asparagus (and every single one of them is amazing), I think I still like it best prepared like this. Simple and quick and compliling the very essence of spring on a plate.

Best to be eaten as a picnic on the bed, the couch or the carpet. Or, if you're daring (or the weather really is warm enough) outside on the balcony. A nice bottle of white wine goes with it perfectly, as does a good friend to share it with (if you even want to) and Nick Cave singing "O Children" in the background.

Roasted green asparagus with eggs and almonds

(Adapted from Sophie Dahl's From Season To Season)

Serves 2

1 bunch of fresh green asparagus (about 7-9 shoots per person)

2 eggs

A handful of almond slivers

Juice and zest from half a lemon

White wine

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Boil the eggs until hard (7-10 minutes), then briefly plunge them into ice water, peel them and put aside.

Toast the almond slivers in a small frying pan until brownish, then put aside.

Wash the asparagus and chop off the unpleasant ligneous ends. In a large frying pan, heat a few splashes of olive oil until searing hot, then add the asparagus, fry until slightly brown and blistery, then put them on a large plate.

Finely dice the eggs and sprinkle them over the asparagus. Combine the lemon zest and juice with a few tablespoons of white wine and pour the mixture over the asparagus. Season with salt and plenty of pepper, then sprinkle with the almond slivers and serve. 

Enjoy!