Asparagus -- The First of Many Delights of the Spring Season

Some people know that it is spring when the tulips start popping out of the dirt, others look for little calves running through the fields but for me, spring has always been designated by the appearance of long, thin, succulent and tender asparagus at the market. Though one can often find asparagus year-round at the grocery store, the fact is that spring is the season for asparagus – this is when it is tender and most delicious.



In addition to the typical ways of cooking asparagus; boiling or roasting with a little olive oil and salt and pepper; the vegetable can yield a world of possibilities when a little creativity is put into its preparation. Try grilling it with prosciutto wrapped around it or take a page from Mark Bittman and boil the asparagus till tender and then place in a food processor with pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and a grated hard salty cheese like Parmesan or Pecorino and pulse till you have a pesto that can be used on pasta, fish. Personally my favorite way to use asparagus is in this simple and quick cooking pasta.

PASTA WITH SHAVED ASPARAGUS, PECORINO, AND SALMON
Serves two as a main course, four as a starter

1-8 ounce salmon fillet
1/2 box of pasta (whatever kind you like, I'm partial to the long and thin)
8-10 stalks of asparagus shaved with a vegetable peeler (pretend that the asparagus is a carrot and shave off thin stripes of the stalk)
1/2 to 3/4 cup finely grated pecorino cheese (you could also use asiago or parm and if you are not a cheese fan add less, if you are, add more)
4 tablespoons of butter cut into pieces
Zest of one lemon, juice of two
1/2 cup of reserved pasta water
Salt and pepper to taste

The salmon was not pleasing to the eye, hence its absence and I'm using black pepper pecorino just in case you are wondering what those black things are in my cheese...

Preheat the oven to 400 and cover a baking sheet with tin foil so you have less mess for later. At the same time, bring to a boil a large pot of water for the pasta. While the oven is heating and the water is heating, wash and trim off the bottom bits of the asparagus and peel them like you would a carrot. Zest and juice the lemon and juice it, cut the butter and pre-grate the cheese. Then, lightly salt and pepper the salmon and place in the oven. It should take, depending on the thickness of the fillet, about 10 or so minutes to cook. After the pasta has boiled for a few minutes, add the asparagus to cook with the pasta. When the pasta and asparagus is fully cooked drain both into a colander and reserve about a half cup of pasta water. Then immediately add the pasta and the asparagus back to the pot on the stove. Add most of the cheese, some lemon juice, salt and pepper, the butter and the reserved pasta water. Briskly stir the mixture in the pot and watch as a nice thin sauce starts to develop. Don't be worried if it seems like there is a lot of liquid in the bottom, just turn your stove back on and let the starch from the pasta water thicken up the sauce. Serve with the remaining cheese, lemon and salmon.