It’s Almost Asparagus Season – Here’s How To Cook It

The British asparagus season runs from 23 April (St George’s Day) until the summer solstice in June, so you just have a couple of months to make the most of it. It’s the ultimate spring vegetable, delicious grilled, steamed, stir-fried or roasted – and works well both as a central ingredient in risotto, soups and pasta dishes as well as served as a side dish. Wondering how to cook it this season? Here we share a few recipe ideas.

Interesting Ways To Cook Asparagus

English Asparagus, Brown Shrimp and Crushed Duck Egg

By Richard Corrigan, Chef Patron, Corrigan Collection

‘Of course, you can use hen’s eggs instead of duck eggs, but as they are smaller, allow two per person and reduce the boiling time to four minutes. Instead of brown shrimp you could stir ribbons of smoked salmon into the eggs, or, to be a bit decadent, a little caviar. The asparagus needs to be cooked for just a minute, so the spears keep their bite and retain all their flavour.’

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 duck eggs
• 20 asparagus spears, stalks peeled
• 50g butter
• 200g peeled brown shrimps
• A pinch snipped chives, or finely sliced spring onion (just the green part)
• 1 lemon, juice
• Quarters buttered toast, to serve

Method:

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil, lower the duck eggs into the water and keep at a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Run under cold water for 1 minute, then peel the eggs (they will be very soft-boiled, just holding their shape). 
2. Cook the asparagus spears in boiling salted water for approximately 1 minute. 
3. Melt the butter in a small pan over a gentle heat. Add the eggs and crush with a fork until they are just beginning to set. Stir in the shrimps and chives and season with lemon juice and salt. 
4. Serve the asparagus spears on warm plates with the toast, topped with the egg and shrimp, alongside. 

St Enodoc Asparagus with Seaweed & Garlic Butter

By Paul Ainsworth

‘It feels like we are spoilt here in Cornwall, with so many incredible producers around us. Among them, Jax Buse and her daughter-in-law, Natalie, in Rock cultivate St Enodoc asparagus, which stands out as a highlight. It’s the exclusive choice for asparagus across The Ainsworth Collection menus, albeit available for only four to five weeks of the year. It is quite simply the best asparagus I’ve ever eaten. When asparagus is this good, we opt for a simple preparation: steamed gently in seaweed and garlic butter. If you can’t get St Enodoc asparagus, there are some other great varieties out there. This method can be used for other vegetables, too: such as peas, pak choi, broccoli and sweetcorn.’

Serves 4; vegetarian, gluten-free and egg-free

Ingredients:

• 5g dried seaweed
• 90g unsalted butter, softened
• ½ garlic clove, finely chopped or grated
• 5g chives, chopped
• 5g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Zest of ½ lemon
• Pinch of Cornish sea salt
• 2 twists of cracked black pepper
• 2 bunches of asparagus (about 16 spears)
• 120ml water

Method:

1. First, pour some warm water over the dried seaweed to rehydrate it. Then squeeze off the excess water and chop it finely.
2. Take a mixing bowl and add the butter, garlic, chives, parsley, seaweed, lemon juice and zest (retain a little zest for finishing), salt and pepper and mix well. Take a sheet of parchment paper and transfer the butter onto it, then wrap and roll into a log shape. This means you can cut consistent amounts as and when you need them.
3. Asparagus is best when in season, so there’s no need to peel it – just cut off the woody stems at the bottom.
4. Place a medium frying pan over a medium heat and add the water and 60g of the seaweed and garlic butter. Bring to the boil, whisking to emulsify the butter and water. Add the asparagus and cover with a lid. The asparagus will take about 2–3 minutes to cook. Test by piercing the thick part of the asparagus with a small knife. Once cooked, serve on a large platter in the middle of the table and spoon all the delicious seaweed butter sauce over the asparagus. Finish with a little grated lemon zest.

For The Love Of Food (Pavilion Book, 2024. Image Credit: Issy Croker)

Tempura Asparagus with Matcha Batter

By Bettina Campolucci Bordi

Ingredients:

Serves 2–4 as a starter

For the batter

• 80g white gluten-free flour
• 30g cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp matcha powder
• A pinch of sea salt
• 180ml sparkling water (ice cold)

For the asparagus

• 1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
• 1 tbsp gluten-free flour (for dusting)
• ½ cup gluten-free panko crumbs (for extra crunch)
• Neutral oil for shallow frying

To finish

• Flaky sea salt
• Zest of 1/2 lime (optional)
• Lime wedges to serve
• Dipping sauce: your favourite mayo mixed with matcha powder

Method

1. Whisk the batter ingredients together until just combined. Keep chilled.
2. Dust the asparagus in flour. Heat oil in a pan for shallow frying. Dip each asparagus spear into the batter, allow excess to drip off, then gently roll in panko crumbs to coat.
3. Fry in batches for 2–3 minutes until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with flaky salt and lime zest.
4. Serve with lime wedges and your matcha mayo dipping sauce.

Asparagus Cocktail

By Hutong

The Dragon Tail Hutong

Ingredients:

• 50ml Belvedere
• 25ml Lemongrass and Ginger cordial
• 25ml Lemon Juice
• 20ml Honey
• 2 Asparagus spears (one for decoration)
• 5ml total sesame seeds muddled with oyster sauce (for drink and decoration)

Method:

1. Muddle one asparagus spear (covered with sesame seeds and oyster sauce), and add the rest of the ingredients.
2. Shake and double strain and serve in a martini glass.
3. Garnish with the other spear on a skewer dipped in sesame seed and oyster sauce mix.

Grilled Asparagus

By Ben Tish

Bring out a lovely smoky flavour to the spring time vegetable by grilling it. Chef Ben Tish of Norma loves to cook it on a griddle/BBQ, so that it retains bite and goes all peppery. Tish also likes to slowly cook the stems in foaming butter with shallots and capers. Really delicious. 

Ben Tish Asparagus Eggs and Torta de Barros

The Perfect Asparagus

By Sea Containers at the Mondrian Hotel‘s Gus Crosby

Ingredients:

• Arbequina olive oil
• Asparagus spears
• Lemon juice
• Lemon zest
• Sea salt
• Cracked black pepper

Method:

1. Blanche in salted water on a high heat for 1 mins.
2. Add asparagus spears to a bowl of ice cold water.
3. Strain the vegetable.
4. Add a healthy coating of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
5. Add asparagus to the grill on high heat until charred evenly (1 min each side).
6. Add a pinch of cracked black pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice and a touch of lemon zest.
7. Serve with a duck egg on top with a dash of truffle oil.