Asparagus Season!

May 21, 2015  •  Best of the Food Web, Vegetables

asparagusThere are lots of reasons to eat seasonally, but possibly the one everyone can get behind is that food just tastes best when it’s freshly picked in season. You know, would you rather have a winter mealy tomato or a summer vine ripened tomato? If you’re not sure when various things come into season, you can usually tell because you will see them featured at the grocery store, possibly on sale, or find them in abundance at your local farmers’ market. Quite a few things come in early here in Colorado, and asparagus is one of them. Here are a few of my favorite recipes.balsamic asparagusOne of the more popular recipes on my blog is oven roasted asparagus with a balsamic glaze. Make a lot of the glaze – it refrigerates for a long time and can also be used on everything from fish and chicken to prosicutto and melon or even ice cream.grilled asparagus prosciuttoYou can wrap raw prosciutto around blanched asparagus spears for a nice appetizer (serve it with some of that balsamic glaze for dipping), or you can drizzle these spears with olive oil and grilling them. When you grill the spears the prosciutto gets crispy which is wonderful. I serve these often when I’m doing a complete grilling menu.asparagus and gruyere puff pastry tartYou can shave asparagus with a vegetable peeler to make thin ribbons – that’s what I did for this intriguing Shaved Asparagus and Gruyere Puff Pastry Tart. It would be perfect for a party or for a spring or summer brunch dish.asparagus tartSpeaking of brunch, you can never go wrong with a tart (quiche). I make them with just about any kind of meat or vegetable or cheese I have on hand, but if you find yourself with extra asparagus, you might try this recipe. Happy spring and enjoy asparagus season while it’s here.

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