Cook Book Club April: asparagus time

Thistles and Kiwis

It is spring here in the northern hemisphere, and while everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand is gorging themselves on autumnal feijoas, here the excitement is all about asparagus. Not just any old asparagus either, but the thick stalks of white asparagus. Spargelzeit ist hier! This cooking magazine I picked up in the supermarket is more or less dedicated to asparagus this month. There were lots of really good looking things to try, but given we are trying to use up what is in the fridge, and not buy more ingredients, I will leave some of these things to try in our spring later in the year (yes folks…I am all confused…2 springs in 6 months, 3 springs in one year…).

Of course, I had to buy some white asparagus, which isn’t available in New Zealand. It is thicker than the green stuff we are more used to, and has a more subtle flavour. You can see why people love it so.

I followed the instructions on La Cuisine de Geraldine which resulted in beautiful, tender and flavourful asparagus. Trim the ends, then using a peeler, peel the stalks below the head to remove any woody bits. Pop into a pan with salt, butter, lemon and just a little sugar.

When cooked, serve with maybe a little dill (see last post as to why I am using a lot of dill) or other favourite herb sprinkled on the top. It goes with whatever you like, and is such a treat to enjoy at this time of year.

I also bought some green asparagus and made a simple one dish meal based on this recipe on the BBC Good Food website. To make things easier, I parboiled the potato slices first, then threw them into the dish with the asparagus. Once the potatoes started to brown, I added quartered tomatoes and the salmon along with lemon juice and of course dill.

I have to say this was very good and very much enjoyed by both of us.

White asparagus? 10/10

The salmon dish? Would definitely do again when we hit spring and asparagus season later this year.

We will be in Stockholm for the next cook book challenge on 21 May Whether you call it a one-pan wonder, a tray bake or a sheet bake, this month we’re celebrating those cookbooks that bring these mid-week marvels to our tables. Let’s see what I can come up with!

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer and good food. Thistles and Kiwis can be found on Facebook and Instagram @thistlesandkiwis

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Published by Thistles and Kiwis

Loves summer, sunshine and cats. Beginner gardener, likes eating, cooking and reading about food

27 Comments

  3. I love white asparagus and it is popular here in Spain. It’s found preserved in jars too so you can buy it all year round. It’s often part of a tapas plate. On a slice of bread, with cream cheese and a couple of stalks of preserved white asparagus. Very good. Also in salads and white asparagus soup is delicious.

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  7. I remember spring in France back in 2018 and loving the white asparagus… the everything asparagus. Enjoy your Euro spring… and looking forward to seeing what you do next month.

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