Spring panzanella and other ways with asparagus

FREE TO READ: a simple salad of asparagus, peas, broad beans, croutons and the jungle of green that makes up my spring herb bed. Plus, more ways to cook with it.

Technically the asparagus season started this week

On St George’s Day (23rd April), and runs until the summer solstice (21st June) but I’ve been seeing British-grown asparagus bunches in the shops for a few weeks now. And anyway, it’s hardly as if the asparagus knows the date.

In my area, Wye Valley Produce asparagus is the first to arrive in late-March thanks to the aid of a polytunnel. Later on there’s Wyndham Park Farm’s crop. I have plans to grow my own one day (see last week’s post) but until then I buy it in bunches (and, as

Mark Diacono

points out, have all the elastic bands I will ever need). Do be cautious if buying from the supermarket though. Asparagus often displayed proudly at the store entrance under a daffodil-clad banner announcing it to be ‘Seasonal’. Which it is, but not this lot because, when you check the (maddeningly plastic) packaging, you see it’s come from Peru.

Ways with asparagus

Simply steam and scoff with butter. It also likes eggs, hard cheese, lemon, cured pork. And is wonderful roasted or raw too. For example:

• Last week’s asparagus orzo with wild garlic breadcrumbs

• Raw asparagus, pine nut and lemon salad written for Borough Market an age ago

• Asparagus, quail’s eggs and prosciutto tart from my blog even longer ago

And out in the wider Substack kitchen, there is more asparagus deliciousness:

• Wild garlic vegan risotto with asparagus and hazelnuts from

  Niki Webster

• Asparagus frittata from

  Mark Diacono

• Another salad this time with pecorino and lemon from

  Rachel Phipps
  writing for
  Anne Byrn

But first, try this salad which uses not only asparagus, but also the jungle of green that makes up my spring herb bed.

Spring Panzanella

Take all the green you can find and put it on a plate. That’s what this dish is – a celebration of the spring greenery: asparagus, broad beans, peas and herbs. So many herbs. Use what herbs you have to hand but wild garlic is a must and mint is a definite no-no (won’t go with the garlic) but tarragon, parsley, chervil, sorrel, fennel and basil would all work. And do allow time for this dish to sit before serving. The croutons absorb the dressing, the greens soak in the peppery olive oil and everything gets friendly in a way that can only result in deliciousness.

Serves 2

• Bunch of asparagus (about 250g)

• 100g broad beans (podded weight, or frozen)

• 100g peas (ditto)

• 75g sugar snaps or mangetout

• 1 tbsp baby capers

• 10-12 caperberries

For the dressing:

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil  

• 1 tbsp apple balsamic vinegar (I use Odysea but another sweet, non-syrupy vinegar would work too)

• ½ tsp Dijon mustard

• Small bunch of wild garlic, parsley and tarragon, finely chopped to make roughly 3tbsp-worth

• 3 spring onions, finely chopped

For the croutons:

• 150g sourdough bread

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Start with the croutons. Tear the bread into rough, bite-sized pieces. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle liberally with salt, then toss, making sure each piece is evenly coated. Arrange the croutons in a single layer on a baking tray and roast for 7–10 minutes, turning over halfway through, until the bread is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside (far away from where you are cooking, or you’ll eat them before you finish the salad.)

Next, cook the veg. Get a large bowl of cold water ready to receive the blanched veg and add a few ice cubes for good measure (this will stop everything over cooking but also helps to retain the bright green colour. No one likes a dull Kermit-coloured salad.)

Trim the woody trunks from the base of the asparagus then slice any fat spears in half lengthways.

Boil a big pan of salted water and add the asparagus into the rolling boil along with the broad beans. Bubble for 1 minute then add the peas and sugar snaps for another minute. No longer. You want crunch. Drain everything, then tip the veg into the iced water to cool.

For the dressing, put the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and Dijon into a jam jar with a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of hot water. Screw the lid on and shake vigorously until emulsified. Add the chopped herbs and spring onions.

Drain the greens and pat them dry with a little kitchen roll then put then in a serving bowl. Add the croutons, capers and caperberries and the dressing. toss everything together with your hands then set aside for at least 15 minutes so the flavours can mingle and the bread soak up the dressing. Serve al fresco with a glass of chilled white wine (and possibly a cardigan).

Spring Panzanella - Kathy Slack

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