Some plants suffered mightily at the hands of this extreme winter. All over town, rosemary, the size of bushes, died in single digit freezes. Fig trees still look skeletal, no promise of buds yet. But winter’s harshness seems to have brought about an unforeseen benefit for others. Dogwoods, redbuds, crab apple, cherry trees have burst out in vivid profusion. Thickets of narcissus, tulips and iris are in glorious bloom.

It has been hard on our farmer friends. John’s strawberry crop was threatened by an April 15th freeze. Thank goodness he got all the plants covered with plastic the day before–a trying task for sure. Tally notes that her rows of spring vegetables are coming along…however slowly. In comparison to years past, everything is delayed by at least three weeks.

But, I am heartened by warmer days and blooming trees. Soon, plantings of beautiful lettuces will be big as bouquets.

Already, feathery leaves and tender spears are emerging in asparagus beds.

There was a time when you only ate asparagus in season. Over the past two decades or more that shifted, with the globalization of commerce, and produce from far-flung places got shipped in. Asparagus in December! Tomatoes in February! I am glad that we are returning to the practice of eating seasonally. We appreciate the fruits and vegetables all the more, at their peak, in their time, grown in their locale. Indeed, they taste better.

A long time ago, (pre-globalization!) I remember a very fun Asparagus Dinner that I attended, actually helped prepare. It was hosted by our friend Lanny, who lived in a decrepit warehouse on Second Avenue near Nashville’s riverfront. Lanny was a graphic artist, stained glass craftsman, Karman Ghia mechanic, architectural antique collector, consummate barterer and all-around wheeler-dealer.

His warehouse home/studio was a remarkable chaotic assemblage of these passions. You never asked where he got any of it, but, be assured, there was a story behind it all. Curiously, in one of his deals of the day, he had acquired 8 big bundles of freshly cut spears. Soon to follow was the call for Asparagus Dinner. About a dozen of us showed up to wash, peel, trim, snap, steam, blanch, and stir-fry the formidable stack.

This was sometime in the early 1980’s. Our menu reflected the cooking tastes of the time. I remember some of what we whipped up: old school hollandaise sauce to nap over steamed asparagus, creme fraiche-dill sauce as a dip for blanched-chilled spears, and a creamy pasta primavera sort of dish laced with crabmeat. I remember that it was all delicious, this asparagus feast.

With asparagus as the centerpiece, we celebrated spring.

Today, I am offering two asparagus suggestions, both of which have a more modern spin: An asparagus salad dressed in gorgonzola vinaigrette, and asparagus roasted with a Persian-spiced pistachio blend. I love how different they are from each other: Cold and hot, pungent and fruity, crisp and toasty. For my friends who are not in love with asparagus officinalus: the gorgonzola dressing is delicious on salad greens alone—and the spiced pistachio would be just as incredible roasted onto cauliflower!

Looking for other wonderful asparagus preparations? Here are a few to check out from springs gone by: Green Goddess Salad, luscious springtime Risotto, and Asparagus-Dill Potato Salad

Wishing you all the flavors of young spring green things!

ASPARAGUS AND SPRING GREENS WITH GORGONZOLA VINAIGRETTE (adapted from Cooking Light)
1 bundle fresh asparagus (about 1 pound), cleaned, trimmed, and cut on the diagonal into thirds
2 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
2 tablespoons minced chives
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola, divided
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 pound mixed spring lettuces

Fill a large skillet or pot with water. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil on medium high heat.
Plunge in the asparagus pieces and cook for one minute–no more than two minutes (depending on how fat or thin the spears are)
Drain and place into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and set the bright green color. When well-cooled, drain the spears and set aside.

Make the vinaigrette:
Place 1/4 teaspoon salt, minced chives, white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon zest, black pepper and 1/4 cup gorgonzola crumbles into a medium mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined.

Place spring greens, asparagus and pine nuts into a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss until all ingredients are well-coated. Sprinkle with remaining gorgonzola crumbles and serve.

Serves 4

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH PERSIAN-PISTACHIO COATING
1 bundle asparagus spears (about 1 pound) washed, dried, and trimmed
olive oil
1/2 cup toasted pistachios, finely ground
1/4 cup sumac (available at ethnic markets)
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Drizzle olive oil (2-3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet. Lay the asparagus spears onto the pan and roll, coating the spears with the oil. Add more oil if needed.

In a small bowl, mix the finely ground pistachios, sumac, thyme, salt and pepper together. Spread this mixture over the asparagus.

Place into the oven and roast for about 15 minutes. Spears will be tender-crisp and the nut mixture will be toasty.

Serves 4-6

Serves 4

1. tess Says:
   April 28th, 2014 at 7:03 pm

   Wonderful recipes… I LOVE ASPARAGUS!!! Waiting for them to spring up here :)

   ~Tess

2. Jayne Says:
   April 28th, 2014 at 8:07 pm

   Asparagus dinner! That is a fun idea. Gorgeous pics, especially that salad.

3. Joyti Says:
   April 29th, 2014 at 12:17 am

   That looks really delicious! We’ve had the opposite problem as you – our winter wasn’t too harsh but too mild and dry :(

4. Kath Says:
   April 29th, 2014 at 4:04 am

   Lovely. Our asparagus bed is not performing as hoped. We have three shoots nearly ready to eat. But there are four of us. Now there is a dilemma! That salad looks really delicious, perhaps that will be the answer.

5. Teresa, foodonfifth Says:
   April 29th, 2014 at 5:46 am

   Beautiful post Nance. I so enjoyed your Roasted Asparagus at last Third Thursday. It was one of my favorites of all the dishes. I also remember fondly Lanny…a man for all seasons who could never settle on which season? He would, of course, end up with bundles of fresh asparagus that no doubt was the result of some “deal or the other”. He probably got the best end of the deal in this case. Thanks for the memories.

6. Kitchen Belleicious Says:
   April 29th, 2014 at 7:13 am

   those toppings/dressings with the gorgonzola and then the pistachios are out of this world. Crazy my friend. You out do me when it comes to veggies for sure. I love these and cant wait to try them. I am LOVING THE COOKBOOK! Thank you a million for thinking of me with the advanced copy and I can’t wait to share it on the blog!

7. goodfoodmatters Says:
   April 29th, 2014 at 7:22 am

   Thank you! I can’t wait for you to get the complete book–just a few more weeks.

8. fluffy Says:
   April 29th, 2014 at 8:35 am

   so hungry from reading the post

   I cannot wait to eat asparagus!

   spring is in the air

9. Adri Says:
   April 29th, 2014 at 8:56 am

   WOW! An asparagus extravaganza! The dishes all sound lovely, but I had to smile when I read your mention of how we used to cook – the Hollandaise sauce and all. Not too long ago I was leafing through my collection of recipes, a collection I had begun keeping in cooking school during the seventies, right before the height of the new food craze. Wow, but those dishes really were rich. So much cream! So many eggs! And didn’t we all just delight in it? Our tastes and sensibilities have changed, but I really enjoyed that walk down food memory lane.

10. Michele|Cooking At Home Says:
    April 29th, 2014 at 9:34 am

    Lovely post,Nancy.I can’t wait to get our hands on local asparagus–soon I hope. I enjoyed the flashback to the 80’s and look forward to trying these gorgeous recipes.

11. Wendy Z Says:
    April 29th, 2014 at 10:13 pm

    Great fun to remember Lanny and that warehouse home of his. I’m sure that dinner was a hippy, dippy delight. Thanks for the memories and the lovely recipes.

12. Barbara Says:
    April 30th, 2014 at 6:54 am

    Fun to walk down the path of our old way of cooking asparagus, not that we didn’t love it, but we are so much more creative now! Both these asparagus recipes look marvelous, Nancy, but the pistachio one caught my eye.
    Wonderful flavors.

13. Pat Says:
    May 1st, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    I remember Second Avenue “back in the day” when it was bohemian and interesting and had its own community
    I would have enjoyed that Asparagus Supper!

14. Denise | Chez Danisse Says:
    May 1st, 2014 at 2:58 pm

    Mmm. The Persian-pistachio version looks just my speed. And I’ll have an excuse to buy my first sumac. Thanks!

15. Tammy Says:
    May 24th, 2014 at 10:18 pm

    Persian pistachio looks like a hearty dish – fitting for the ferns that tolerated the winter.