Asparagus with poached eggs

Now is the time to get English Asparagus at its best.  Its official season starts on 1st May, but this does depend on the weather – and let’s face it, who knows what start date that leaves us with at the moment?

The season ends on Midsummer’s day (24th June) so that leaves us slap bang in the middle – optimum asparagus season.

Such a big deal is made of it because of its gourmet quality.  It is deemed the most delicious of all vegetables with its delicate, subtle taste and tender texture.  It is best to eat now as it does not keep or store well, therefore bringing into question the quality of the imported out of season supermarket version.

To prepare asparagus take a spear and hold it in two hands about an inch or so from each end.  Gently bend it.  The spear will snap about ¾ of the way down, nearest the thicker end.  This process allows the asparagus to tell you naturally where the inedible part is (actually, it will not do you any harm, it just has a woody fibrous texture) and you can keep it to make stock, if you’re that way inclined or just discard it.

Some people (usually of the cheffing variety) will tell you to peel the thicker end.  We personally feel that it is just for show and has no real purpose, so hey, that’s your choice.

To cook the asparagus you do not need any special kettle or fiddly device.  We only ever cook it two ways.

Either throw the spears into a large pan of boiling salted water.  Cook for 2-3, then drain.  The other way is to char grill them.  Lightly drizzle them with a tiny bit of oil.  Heat a grill pan until very hot and char grill the spears on all sides.

For a light starter or snack idea, serve them with poached eggs, some parmesan shavings and a drizzle of balsamic glaze (easily available to buy) or sweet chilli glaze.

To do your poached eggs:

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil then turn down to a simmer.  It’s easiest to add the eggs to the water if you break each of them into a teacup or ramekin first.

Swirl the water in the pan round quickly with a spoon.  As it is still spinning, add the eggs one at a time.  The swirling nature of the water will encourage the white of the egg to coat the yolk giving you a nice, even rounded shape and the movement will stop them sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Simmer the eggs for 3-4 minutes until set.  Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper to remove any excess water.