Asparagus has a reputation for being delicate and difficult that it doesn’t deserve. It’s actually straightforward to cook well — the problem is that most recipes treat it gently, which is exactly wrong. Asparagus wants high heat and short time. What it doesn’t want is to be boiled slowly in a large pan of water until it turns grey-green and limp, which is how most people encounter it and why most people are indifferent to it.
Done properly, asparagus is one of the best things the British and Irish growing season produces.
The season
English and Irish asparagus runs from late April to around mid-June — six weeks, sometimes slightly more if the weather cooperates. After that, what arrives in supermarkets travels from Peru or Mexico and is a different, considerably less interesting ingredient. The domestic season is worth tracking because the difference between asparagus bought at a farm shop in May and asparagus bought in November is roughly the same as the difference between a tomato in August and a tomato in February.
Buy it local and in season. The price will be higher and the quality will be worth it.
The snap test and what to do with the stems
Hold a spear at both ends and bend it gently. It will snap at the point where the woody base meets the tender stalk — this is the natural breaking point, and it’s more reliable than measuring a set length from the bottom. The snapped woody ends aren’t waste: they go into stock or are simmered in water for 15 minutes, strained, and used as the cooking liquid for a sauce.
Thick asparagus (the kind sold in bundles at markets, with fat stems the width of your thumb) benefits from light peeling below the tip — a vegetable peeler run once or twice up the lower third of the stalk removes the fibrous outer layer and makes the whole spear cook evenly. Thin asparagus doesn’t need it.
How to cook it
Griddle or cast iron pan: The best method for flavour. Get the pan extremely hot — it should be almost smoking — brush the asparagus with oil and lay it down in a single layer. Don’t move it for 2 minutes. Turn and cook for another 1–2 minutes. The spears should have distinct char marks and still have a little resistance at the thickest part. This is correct. Asparagus that bends completely when lifted has gone too far.
Roasting: Toss with olive oil and salt, spread in a single layer on a hot tray, roast at 220°C for 8–10 minutes. The tips will begin to frizzle and catch. Good.
Blanching: The only correct version is in well-salted boiling water for 2 minutes maximum, removed immediately with tongs and either eaten straight away or plunged into ice water if you’re serving it cold. A 2-minute blanch gives bright green, snappy spears. At 4 minutes they’re already on the way to the problem.
What it needs
Salt and fat. A good olive oil drizzled over at the end, or butter melted and frothing in the pan after you’ve lifted the asparagus out. A squeeze of lemon. Shaved parmesan or pecorino if you want to take it somewhere more substantial.
Asparagus has an affinity with eggs — a soft yolk broken over griddled spears is one of the better lunches available in May. With burrata, the cream of the cheese against the char of the asparagus is as good as anything more complicated.
Keep the preparation simple during the season. The asparagus is doing the work already.
One thing to avoid
Don’t dress asparagus in advance or let it sit in acid. Lemon juice or vinegar added more than a few minutes before serving will turn the bright green to an olive drab and the texture will soften. Dress at the moment of serving, or at the table.
Six weeks is not long. Cook it while it’s here.