Asparagus is one of the most loved ingredients of Spring. There are wild asparagus extremely tasty, but very difficult to find . Normally we eat green or white cultivated asparagus: green, if grown in the presence of light, or white, if grown in the absence of light. Green asparagus, unlike white ones, grow on earthy soil and acquire their green color thanks to the effect that the sun’s rays have on chlorophyll.

Asparagus can be cooked in many ways and is very healthy, and almost all the recipes are simple because asparagus don’t need to be cooked for long.

  • First, wash the asparagus carefully under water, eliminating any earthy residues
  • Dry them well, then remove the hardest part of the stem. Depending on the recipe to be prepared, decide whether to equalize them all by removing the woody part near the base with a knife or by breaking it with your hand at the point where the asparagus yields, by bending it.
  • To cook them, avoid drowning them in liters of boiling water, the best would be to have a narrow and high saucepan to cook the asparagus standing up.
  • Never submerge them completely but leave the tips out of the liquid so that cooking takes place by indirect heat and therefore more delicate. The reason is simple: the asparagus does not have a homogeneous consistency; the stems, which are more leathery and woody, need a longer cooking time than the tips

A nice dish is Asparagus with Pine nuts and Cooked Ham.

40g  = ¼ cup pine-nuts

150g = 4 slices Prosciutto Cotto /Cooked ham

100g = ½ cup Parmigiano 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Vinegar

Cook the asparagus in boiling water with a pinch of  coarse salt.

Flake the Parmigiano

Chop or slice the ham

Whisk  the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, the toasted pine-nuts, the  ham and flakes of Parmigiano. 

Drain the asparagus and serve on a dish.

Pour the mixture over the asparagus and serve

Try also  Asparagus with mimosa sauce