Asparagus Means Spring

Wonderful spring! The two big signs of spring in the produce section now are lots of nice spring onions and fresh asparagus. Here's a good asparagus recipe. It has pecans in it. You can't get much better than that.

Glazed Asparagus & Carrots with Pecans

1 cup water
1 pound fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
3 large (2 cups) carrots, sliced diagonally 1/4-inch
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted

Place 1 cup water in 10-inch skillet. Bring to a full boil over medium heat; add asparagus and carrots. Cover; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until asparagus and carrots are crisply tender (7 to 9 minutes). Drain. Remove from skillet; keep warm.
Melt butter in same skillet. Stir together 3 tablespoons water, lemon juice and cornstarch in small bowl; stir into butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens (2 to 3 minutes). Stir in lemon peel.

To serve, spoon sauce over warm asparagus and carrots. Sprinkle with pecans.

My favorite green onion dish is to simply sauté sliced radishes and spring onions in butter. Salt lightly and serve.

Here's a more complicated green onion recipe that was originally from Bon Appetit magazine. I've changed it a bit because the original recipe was too optimistic about how long it takes to cook wheat berries. It takes over an hour to cook and one needs to soak them overnight first. They are worth the trouble though, very tasty and chewy. I love wheat berries. Bob's Red Mill is a brand you should be able to find in the natural foods section of your supermarket.

Wheat Berry Salad with Red and Green Onions

1 cup wheat berries
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 green onions, minced
1 carrot, peeled, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add wheat berries, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, stirring occasionally, about an hour and a half. Drain.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add red onion; sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 4 tablespoons oil, then vinegar; whisk to blend.
Toss wheat berries, green onions, carrot and bell pepper in large bowl. Pour dressing over; toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool completely.

What Is Salsify?

The Peas, Radishes, Lettuce, Beets and Salsify Are Growing

Salsify? What is that you ask? It’s my husband’s favorite vegetable, a vegetable that’s also known as oyster plant, vegetable oyster or goatsbeard. When cooked the vegetable has a faint oyster flavor, just a hint. It is a member of the sunflower family. It’s a long white root vegetable that looks like a thin parsnip.

I’ve never seen salsify in the supermarket. I had eaten it when I was a child, but it has mostly disappeared from American tables. We came across it at Pleasant Hill Shaker Village in Kentucky. A salsify au gratin is one of the signature dishes in their restaurant.

The plant takes 150 days to mature, and needs good, loose soil. I’ve never tried it before, but my husband begged me to grow some. So, this year I’m trying. The seedlings are interesting and look like grass.

Here are some recipes I will try if my crop grows well or if I find some salsify at the farmer’s market. My husband has a friend who is a commercial asparagus grower. He’s trying to persuade him to grow salsify.

These first three recipes are mainly instructions. Amounts depend on how much salsify you have.

Creamed Oyster Plant (Salsify)
Wash, scrape, and put at once into cold acidulated water (watwe and lemon juice or vinegar) to prevent discoloration. Cut in inch slices, cook in boiling salted water until soft, drain, and add to White Sauce.

Salsify Au Gratin
Prepare salsify as above. Place slices of salsify in buttered au gratin dish. Cover with a white sauce into which you’ve stirred Parmesan cheese to taste. Top with buttered bread crumbs and bake until browned on top.

Salsify Fritters
Cook oyster plant as for Creamed Oyster Plant. Mash, season with butter, salt, and pepper. Shape in small flat cakes, roll in flour, and sauté in butter.

Salsify and Vegetable Stew
Makes 8 servings
4 cups of salsify
1 small onion
½ cup carrot
½ cup turnip
½ cup of celery
1 T half and half
1T parsley
1T lemon juice
Pepper, grated nutmeg, sugar (optional for taste)
Cut the salsify into 2 pieces. Sprinkle them with salt and steep in water and milk. Cut onion, carrot, turnip, and celery into small pieces. Put these in a stew pan and cook for 20 minutes. Mix 1 oz of flour with a little bit of milk and stir in. The more milk
the runnier the stew. Fill up with a quart of water, stir and bring to a boil. Add salsify and cook until tender. For flavor add the cream, parsley, and lemon juice. Season with pepper, grated nutmeg, and sugar.