2 posts tagged “asparagus”

Asparagus is so tasty, but also a little intimidating... that is, if you're trying to grow it.  We asked gardener and guest blogger Christy Wilhelmi, founder of Gardenerd.com, to share the secrets behind growing asparagus (commitment-phobes beware!):

When people visit my garden, I point to the overgrown patch of fern-like fronds in the back. The question is always the same.  “That’s asparagus?”  The truth is - that used to be asparagus.  Asparagus appears out of the ground in the form we’re used to seeing on our plates – a spear. If they don’t get harvested, they grow taller and the tips open up, sending out fern-like fronds.  Some of those fronds (the females) develop red berries. At the end of the season, the fronds get cut down and the process starts over again.  
Many people are intimidated by the 3-year wait between planting and first harvest.  Some can’t commit to a permanent location for this 20-year crop.  If I’d known how easy it really is, I’d have planted asparagus 16 years ago when I started gardening.  Delay no further, my friends.  Follow this simple 3-step process and begin your journey to home-grown asparagus today:

1)  Choose a sunny location where you don’t think you’ll want to grow anything else for about 15 – 20 years.  Just do it.  If you don’t think you’ll be in one place for 15-20 years, either resign yourself to the fact that someday someone else will be enjoying your asparagus (hey – it could add value to your property), or plant the crowns (crowns

are bare-root asparagus plants) in an 18” deep planter that you can take with you when you move.

2) Dig a trench 12 inches deep.  Throw in a couple inches of good quality compost and a little organic vegetable fertilizer.  Make a mound in the center of the trench, and drape the asparagus crowns over the mound.  Cover the tops of the crowns with 2 inches of soil.  Add more soil as the asparagus grows until the trench level is even with the soil surface.

3) Water but don’t harvest in your first year.  Be strong.  Cut back the tall, frond-like foliage early next spring and watch spears poke their little heads up for the second time.  Harvest only for 2 weeks in the second year – patience is a virtue - and let the rest go.  Cut back again the following spring and start enjoying your home-grown asparagus as they grow.  Harvest spears 1½ inches below the soil surface with pruning shears or a sharp knife.
Olive oil, salt, pepper, knife, fork – yum!

Actor, chef and guest blogger John Pleshette offers us the recipe for a wonderful spring salad:

John Pleshette's Asparagus Salad
Serves 4

2 bunches of thick asparagus (4 per person)
1 large shallot
Champagne vinegar
Lemon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Italian parsley
Chives
Tarragon
Parmesan Reggiano

Trim off the tough ends of the asparagus.  Holding the asparagus flat on the cutting surface peel down from below the tips with a vegetable peeler.

Meanwhile, fill a large steep-sided pan water and bring to a boil on top of the stove.  Salt generously.  

Peel and slice the shallot into thin rounds.  Put a good pinch of sea salt and several grindings of pepper in the bottom of a bowl.  Add 2 tsps of champagne vinegar and 1 tsp of lemon juice.  Whisk together to dissolve the salt.  then whisk in about a 1/3 cup of olive oil.  whisk in shallots and set aside.  

Put the asparagus in the boiling water.  boil for 3 to 5 minutes or until the asparagus are pierced with sharp fork but still have some resistance.  

Meanwhile, fill the sink with cold water and a handful of ice.  As soon as the asparagus are done, remove with tongs and plunge immediately into the ice bath.  Let them cool for a 30 seconds and drain on a clean dish towel.  Roll them up to dry them until ready to serve.

Tear about 1/2 cup of parsley leaves from their stems.  Tear the leaves from 8 sprigs of tarragon.  Roughly chop 1/2 cup of chives.  

Toss asparagus together with vinaigrette and herbs.  Apportion onto four plates.  Using a vegetable peeler, shave thin slices of parmesan over the asparagus.

CellarWise Wine Pairing

Asparagus has an inherent bitter quality, providing the challenge for this match. Sauvignon Blanc can mimic that bitter grassiness, but stick to riper styles from California or Chile. From the former, look for the ’07 Ch St Jean (Fume Blanc) Sonoma County or the ’07 Kenwood Sonoma County, both $12 and readily available. From Chile try the ’08 Vina Montes Leyda Valley Leyda Vyd ($15) or the ’08 Vina San Pedro Elqui Valley ‘Castillo de Molina Reserva’ ($12), two gorgeous fruit-forward examples. For fun think about Oregon Pinot Gris, specifically less floral styles such as the ’06 Eyrie Vyd Dundee Hills or the ’07 Chehalem Willamette Valley (both $17). Enjoy.