The first sighting of British asparagus makes me as happy as the first gooseberries in summer. So much so that a bundle or two will be eaten in our house as a main dish. I beat egg yolks, lemon and butter into a Hollandaise to go with them, or cut thick slices of bread spread with butter and crushed anchovy fillets.
Fat is what makes asparagus worth eating – an egg-and-butter sauce, the hot fat from bacon or pancetta you have cubed and fried and used as dressing for the spears, the running yolk of a poached egg. Without butter or egg or bacon fat, or the liquid centre of a Camembert, Tunworth or other softly melting cheese, asparagus doesn’t quite hit the spot. Try it with melted butter to which you have added a shot of lemon juice.
This year we dipped the spears in soft, almost sloppy, mashed potato, beaten smooth with olive oil and hot milk and made lighter and more summery with the addition of lemon. And when I say lemon, I mean lots – that way it flatters the spears rather than blankets them with bland carbs.
I used the starch and citrus marriage a second time this week, plating grated, peeled celeriac with slices of blood orange. Asparagus comes in around the time the blood oranges leave us. The citrus fruits with the starchy, mineral flavours of the celery root brightened the flavour of what can be a dull vegetable.
Other root and citrus possibilities include baked Jerusalem artichokes with lemon juice and garlic (squeeze a lemon over the raw artichokes and olive oil, then tuck the empty shells among them and roast) and, right now, spring turnips. The snow-white round roots barely the size of a golf ball can be steamed and served with softened butter into which you have stirred grated lemon and orange zest, chopped parsley and the merest hint of honey.
Griddled asparagus with lemon mashed potatoes
Use Maris Pipers or any other waxy potato, such as a Charlotte, for this soft and delicious mash.
Serves 2
For the mash:
potatoes 850g
milk 300ml, full cream
lemons juice and zest of 1½
olive oil 5 tbsp
asparagus 250g
olive oil for drizzling
Peel the potatoes, cut them into large pieces, then bring to the boil in a pan of salted water. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until they are tender to the point of a knife.
Warm the milk in a saucepan and set aside. Grate the zest, then squeeze the lemons. Drain the potatoes, then put them in the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a flat paddle beater. Slowly beat the potatoes, adding the warm milk and lemon juice as you go, until you have a loose mash. Now beat in the olive oil. The mash should be creamy, with no lumps.
Brush the asparagus with olive oil, then cook for three or four minutes on a griddle, turning the spears occasionally, so they colour evenly.
Divide the mash between two plates, then place the asparagus to the side of the mash. Generously trickle olive oil all over, then add some of the lemon zest on top.
Celeriac and blood orange salad
Carrots will work in place of the celeriac, but maincrop carrots are better for grating than the more fragile spring veg, which work best thinly sliced.
Serves 2
For the salad:
blood oranges 4, small, sliced
grapefruit 1
celeriac 200g, after peeling
nigella seeds a pinch or two
Dressing for the oranges:
blood orange 1
lemon 1, small
capers 12
olive oil 3 tbsp
Dressing for the celeriac:
yogurt 200ml
olive oil 3 tbsp
Make the dressing for the oranges by slicing a blood orange and a lemon in half and squeeze their juice into a small bowl. If your capers are salted or stored in brine, rinse them then add to the juices. Capers in olive oil can be added as they are, without rinsing. Season with three or four turns of black pepper, then pour in the olive oil, and combine lightly with a fork or small whisk. Taste and stir in a little salt, if necessary. Your dressing should be bright, sharp and slightly salty.
To make the salad, remove the peel from the remaining oranges and the grapefruit. The easiest way is to remove a small slice from both top and bottom with a very sharp knife, place the fruit cut side down on a chopping board, then slice away the peel, cutting downwards, following the shape of the fruit. Cut each orange and grapefruit into about six thin slices, placing each in the dressing as you go, then set aside in a cool place.
Make the dressing for the celeriac by putting the yogurt in a large mixing bowl, then beat in the olive oil with a fork, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Peel the celeriac then grate, electronically or by hand, into matchstick-thick shreds. If you grate too finely, the result will be wet, too thickly and the salad will be too crunchy to eat. Fold the celeriac into the dressing.
To serve, arrange the slices of orange and grapefruit on a main serving dish or individual plates, pile the dressed celeriac in the centre, then spoon the orange dressing over the fruit. Scatter the nigella seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan for a minute or two, over the celeriac.
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