Asparagus – Esculent of Courtesans and Kings. And You and Me.

BI Farms Blanched & Chilled Asparagus

Humans have been devouring asparagus for over 2,000 years.  In her entertaining book How Carrots Won the Trojan War: Curious (but True) Stories of Common Vegetables, Rebecca Rupp explains the long and winding path of asparagus from ancient Greece and Rome to your kitchen. 

Given the popularity of asparagus over ages and across cultures, it is not surprising that sex is involved.  Pliny the Elder, 2nd century Arabic love manuals, European Renaissance bridegrooms, and the modern day Vegetarian Society, all tout asparagus as your go-to vegetable for a vigorous love life. 

Madame de Pompadour so loved asparagus that she created the eponymous dish still eaten today, Asperges a lá Pompador, made with eggs, butter, nutmeg, and lemon.  Madame was King Louis the XV's favorite mistress and considered one of the three most powerful women of the 18th century.  She was involved in designing the Place de la Concorde in Paris, in court affairs, and foreign policy.

Pretty Madame de P. Ponders, Perhaps on Asparagus

The first asparagus of the season hit the Day Road Farmstand on May 15^th and the clock is ticking.  You have only a couple weeks to eat your fill.

Try one of the recipes below to enjoy the bright, fresh taste of local asparagus, and perhaps bring a little extra zip to your love life. Who am I to argue with the wisdom of ages?

Asparagus with Boursin, Mustard, and Prosciutto

24 asparagus spears

4 ounces Boursin cheese, softened

1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto

1/8 cup mustard

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook asparagus until crisp-tender, about 1.5 minutes. Transfer asparagus to a bowl of ice water and move it around a bit with your hands until chilled through. The asparagus, that is, not your hands.  :-)  Transfer asparagus to paper towels or a clean dish towel to dry.

Cut 1 slice of prosciutto lengthwise into 1-inch strips and spread each strip with about 1/2 teaspoon Boursin. Spread about 1/8 teaspoon mustard over the Boursin and wrap each strip in a spiral around an asparagus spear.

Make more hors d'oeuvres with the remaining prosciutto, Boursin, mustard, and asparagus spears in the same manner. Cover and chill.  Can be made up to 6 hours in advance.  Before serving, drizzle with olive oil. Serve with slices of chilled cantaloupe.

Charred Asparagus with Shallots, 
Thyme, and Chive Blossoms

1 bunch asparagus
2 tablespoons each butter, olive oil, plus extra oil for finishing
1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 lemon
chive blossoms (optional)

Heat dry iron skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Add asparagus and use tongs to roll around asparagus until charred in spots, about two minutes. Transfer to a plate. 

Reduce heat to medium low.  Carefully rinse pan with hot water (it will sizzle). 

Return pan to stove.  Add butter and olive oil to skillet along with thyme leaves, chopped shallot, and garlic.  Saute until shallots are soft, about 2 minutes.  Do not let garlic brown.  

Return asparagus to pan, season with salt and pepper, drizzle on a little more olive oil, toss to combine and heat asparagus through.  Transfer to plate, drizzle with lemon juice, a little more olive oil, and garnish with chive blossoms.

Fresh Asparagus Soup

Friends of the Farms was kind enough to include my recipe in their cookbook:

6 cups water

1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads

1/3 cup shelled pistachios

3 1/2 pounds asparagus

1 large potato (preferably yukon gold)

1/4 cup butter

Handful of fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves chopped

Salt and pepper

Edible flowers for garnish (such as borage or pansy)

In a small saucepan bring 1/2 cup water to a boil and remove pan from heat.

Stir in saffron and steep, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.

Toast nuts in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring until fragrant.  Remove from heat.  When nuts are cool enough to handle, chop course. 

Cut asparagus spears into 2-inch pieces, reserving tips separately.

Have ready a large bowl of ice water.

Bring a large saucepan of boiling salted water to a boil and blanch asparagus tips 1 minute, or until crisp-tender, and transfer with a slotted spoon to ice water to stop cooking.  Drain tips well.

Peel potato and cut enough into 1/2-inch cubes.

In a 4-quart heavy bottom pot, sauté asparagus stalks in butter over moderate heat until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in potato, saffron infusion, and 4 cups water and simmer, covered, until vegetables are very tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes.

In a blender puree mixture in batches until smooth.  In pot, stir together puree and enough of remaining broth to reach desired consistency. Add half of asparagus tips and bring soup to a simmer. While soup is heating, chop parsley. Season soup with pepper and salt.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with nuts, remaining asparagus tips, parsley, and flowers. 

And now for something completely different:

 Asparagus Ice Cream 

I first heard of asparagus ice cream in the outstanding new documentary series Chef's Table in an episode with Dan Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York.  When a miscommunication led to the restaurant having too much asparagus, Barber decided to put it in every dish on the menu that night, even the ice cream. A gutsy idea that led Jonathan Gold of the LA Times to describe Blue Hill as the new epitome of farm to table dining.  

I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel a little frisky.

Rosemary Chicken  

Brine it, smoke it, then set it on fire. I'm not kidding.

The first time I saw chickens at HeyDay Farms I gaped.  They were cavorting.  Running, flapping, jumping, squawking.  I did not know that chickens behaved in such a raucous manner. 

If you buy a local chicken and properly prepare it, it will be the only thing you eat that "tastes like chicken." 

I've purchased chickens from HeyDay Farms and Butler Green Farms on Bainbridge Island, and the Farm Store at Bay Hay & Feed sells chicken from Spring Rain Farm in Chimacum. 

HeyDay Farm chickens were on sale recently, Sunday's weather was glorious, and we were home all day working in the yard.  Time to smoke a chicken.

How to Prepare a Fantastic Chicken

Brine the Bird  

Do. Not. Skip. This. Step. It is essential to a flavorful, moist bird.  There are gazillions of brine options, like this one from Michael Ruhlman. 

I use the most basic brine for rosemary chicken.  In a large pot, dissolve 1/2 cup kosher salt in 4 quarts of cold water.  Rinse chicken under cool water inside and out, and submerge in pot.  Refrigerate at least 6 hours, and up to 24. 

Prep for Chicken and Gas Grill Smoking

Step 1:  Remove chicken from brine and place on a rack in a roasting pan breast side up. The rack prevents the chicken from touching the pan, as you will be cooking with indirect heat. Pour about an inch of water in the pan as an added heat barrier.  You can also add a little white wine or dry vermouth to the pan for additional flavor.

Step 2: Put some aromatics in the chicken cavity.  Pick your flavor profile and don't over-fill.  Try chunks of leek or onion, and a couple of smashed garlic cloves.  If you like, add fresh herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, or tarragon, and/or a wedge or two of citrus such as lemon, lime, or orange. Use kitchen twine to tie the legs together to make a tidier chicken bundle. 

Step 3: Soak wood chips for 20-30 minutes. Wood chips are readily available in grocery and hardware stores. We used hickory this time. We’ve also used apple and cherry chips. (Don't use mesquite, it is too harsh for a long smoking process like this.)

Smoke the Chicken
Total smoking time: approximately 2 hours for a 5 lb. chicken.  

Step 1: Heat gas grill to 325-350 degrees. There are those who believe meat must be cooked over charcoal.  Come by some day and we'll prove you wrong, but if you prefer a charcoal grill, peace be with you.

Step 2: Wrap soaked wood chips loosely in aluminum foil and puncture in a couple of places to allow smoke to escape. Place packet near one of the side gas jets to warm. Meanwhile, soak more chips, as you will be adding a packet every half hour for the duration of smoking.

Step 3: When wood packet is smoking, place chicken on grill and turn off middle burner (or however your grill is configured). The objective is indirect heat, so no heat right under the bird.

Step 4: Close the grill lid and monitor the grill temperature. With too little heat the wood packet will stop smoking, too much and it will burn up too quickly. Adjust as needed.

Step 5: After one half hour turn chicken over with tongs so the breast side is now down. Don't use a fork to do this; you don't want to pierce the skin. Replace wood chip packet. Repeat flipping over the chicken and replacing the wood chip packet every half hour until the bird is cooked to 155 degrees. A digital probe thermometer is a kitchen must-have. They are inexpensive and the only way to be certain food is cooked to the desired temperature.

Step 6:  Cover chicken with a bunch of freshly cut rosemary sprigs. 

Close grill lid.  Check after about 10 minutes.  The rosemary should be wilted and starting to ash.

Step 7:  Here's the super fun part.  Turn off the gas, open the grill, strike a match and stand back …

I wish this was on Smell-O-Vision

When the fire is completely out, use a pastry brush and brush off the ash.  Admire your creation, then transfer bird to a cutting board and tent with foil.

Step 8:  This is another critical step.  Let chicken rest for 15 minutes.  I know this is hard, because it smells so freaking good, but if you aren't patient all the glorious juices will end up on your cutting board and not in your tummy.

What goes with rosemary chicken?  Everything. But what you want to eat right now is Karen Selvar's local asparagus. It will make you swoon.  Grill it, steam it, broil it, eat it out of hand. (Next week I'll have much more on how to enjoy this local treat.) The season is painfully short, so get to the Day Road Farmstand Monday and Wednesday from 9:00am to 2:00pm.  

When tomatoes are in season a salad of tomato chunks, torn crusty bread, fresh basil and a lot of olive oil and sea salt is great with chicken.  Until then, white beans and greens are an homage to Tuscany.  

Use leftover rosemary chicken on a sandwich with a slice of bacon and a pile of arugula. We also use it in spinach and smoked chicken risotto, or make a dinner salad with nutty grains like farro or einkorn and vegetables with a lemon tahini vinaigrette.  

C'mon Baby, Light Your Fire.

A Girl And Her Greens

I love greens.  REALLY love them.  I eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I eat them raw, grilled, steamed, stir fried, pureed in smoothies, and coated in olive oil and roasted.  They go in pots of white beans or chickpeas, minestrone, get baked in casseroles, and are transformed into a glorious green lasagna.  More on that lasagna later. 

After a winter of little variety in produce, I come unraveled at the sight of bright, tender, green vegetables at the Bainbridge Farmers' Market. 

Raab at Butler Green Farms at Farmer's Market

Last week my market bag spilled over with baby arugula, sprouted broccoli, speckled bib lettuce, raab, bok choy, spinach, and two less common offerings – sproutini (the young shoots from Brussels sprouts) from Persephone Farms and vitamin greens from Butler Green Farms. 

Vitamin Greens and Bok Choy

'

Sproutini

I snacked on sproutini in the car on the way home.  It was shockingly sweet and mild.  Not a hint of bite or bitterness.  Saturday night it went on the grill, doused with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper.  When it had wilted and taken on a little smoky flavor, I drizzled on white balsamic vinegar infused with grapefruit from The Lively Olive in Port Townsend, and shaved on lemon zest.    

What little remained became a throw-together 10-minute lunch.  Leftover roast chicken and cooked pasta from earlier in the week went into a saucepan with chopped sproutini, a half-cup of water, a tablespoon of butter, a grating of Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.  I heated it through and dove in.

Vitamin greens are similar to bok choy, but more tender and sweet, and a bargain at $3 for a bunch bigger than your head.  I stir fried some with Town & Country’s house-made hoisin sauce, Hong Kong noodles, green onions, and carrot.  A little sauce was spread on grilled tuna steaks to complete dinner.  

Phil Thinks I Should Have Plated This To Make It Look Prettier.  

Sorry, We Were Hungry.  

If you’re ready for a show-stopper, use vitamin greens to make the green lasagna from A Platter of Figs by David Tanis.  It’s a weekend afternoon project, but worth every minute you put into it.  The recipe makes a big batch, and it freezes perfectly.  Here's the recipe: Green Lasagna  

Although we usually plan our meals on Sunday for the coming week (this saves a surprising amount of money and time), I buy produce several times a week.  Having a CSA subscription to a local farm guarantees access to fresh produce and local meat throughout the week.  For years I’ve had a subscription with Brian McWhorter's Butler Green Farms.  Brian's approach to the CSA is like loading up a pre-paid debit card. In early spring you add money to your account.  Then you shop for whatever you like, when you need it.  Your CSA share entitles you to visit the farm stand in Rolling Bay on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and use your CSA account at Farmers' Market on Saturday.  More information can be found here: Butler Green Farms

Baby Arugula On Nona-Style Pizza Drizzled with Olive Oil

For innovative ways to prepare fresh vegetables, peruse Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters or The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison. 

It may not be easy being green, but it is easy to eat greens.