Chef Paul: It’s almost asparagus time!
April 01 2011
Spring has to be my favourite time of year as a cook. I look forward to the arrival of asparagus to the farmers market…a sure sign of spring. Asparagus will be followed soon thereafter by fiddleheads and then…the flood gates open! Buying fresh local produce is a must. Not only will it last longer, the taste is just that much better. For my lunch today, I packed myself some spinach for a salad. As I’ve said previously, I wash and spin every green or vegetable that requires it when I get home from the market. Well, today’s spinach salad will feature spinach purchased March 19th…that’s two weeks ago! There is NO WAY a bag of spinach from the grocery store would EVER last that long…often the spinach is half turned to liquid by the time you get it home.
Soon there’ll be a huge variety of fresh produce at the market: lettuces, tomatoes, kale, Swiss chard, bok choy…
And then fresh fruit arrives! Is there anything better than a sun ripened strawberry? Still warm and oh so juicy! It’s all still a little ways away, probably a few weeks yet until asparagus arrives. It’s almost like Christmas for a chef…Christmas that lasts all summer long.
By the time asparagus season has run its course, we’ve usually had our fill.
Here’s a low fat take on an asparagus classic:
