It’s asparagus season in South Carolina + video

It is asparagus season in South Carolina.

Unbeknownst to many, there happen to be two large asparagus farms within an hour’s drive of Columbia – in Ridge Spring and Monetta.

Last Friday, I drove out to the Monetta Asparagus Farm, run by the Andrew Fallaw family, to purchase some fresh-from-the-field asparagus. Andrew, himself, met me at the farm’s storage cooler/farm store and after purchasing a box of fresh cut asparagus (10 pounds for $38), was kind enough to show me around the fields.

Now I must admit that I had never seen asparagus actually growing. I mean, you just see the spears in the stores so I wasn’t really sure what it looked like in the dirt.

Seems I passed a semi-harvested field on the way in without realizing it. Asparagus, in fields that have mature plants (I’ll get back to this in a minute), just erupt from the Earth as single spears that can grow in height up to a foot a day. Fallaw said that this is what makes harvesting the veggie so labor intensive; it must be done every day during the growing season so that the stalks hitting the stores are still tender and not woody.

His farm grows both a thin-spear variety and a thicker one. He said it’s a misunderstanding that the thinner the spear, the more tasty it will be. (I will try convincing my sister of this!)

It takes three years for asparagus to mature enough to be harvested. In the meantime, younger plants are allowed to grow and “fern out,” as Fallaw puts it. The asparagus ferns may form seeds that will drop and create volunteers, which are plowed under after the season is over.

To prepare fresh asparagus, you do not necessarily have to peel it, just trim off the bottom of the stalks. The fastest, easiest way to cook asparagus is to get about a 10- to 12-inch saucepan and put about a half inch of water in the pan and bring it to a boil. Lay the asparagus in the pan and cook for about five-eight minutes (depending on the thickness of the asparagus spears) until the spears turn bright green.

Pick out a spear to check for doneness, it should be like pasta, al dente, with a bit of a bite. Remove the asparagus from heat and plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. There’s nothing worse than overcooked, mushy veggies (unless you plan on making soup or puree).

Asparagus is one of those vegetables that loves to be served with a bit of fat: butter or cream sauces (the French traditionally use aioli (a garlic mayonnaise) for dipping asparagus or other spring vegetables such as steamed carrots, beans and new potatoes) ... or bacon or ham.

I have sauteed asparagus in a pan after frying bacon and then served it with the crispy bacon bits.

For the spring asparagus salad included here, I used butter to saute the vegetables and then added a little more butter to the pan after the asparagus was done and sauteed lemon slices to create a lemony butter sauce to use as a dressing.

Chef Brandon Veile, of Juniper restaurant in Ridge Spring, likes to dip asparagus spears in a light tempura batter before frying. And I have had prosciutto-wrapped and grilled asparagus at book club “brunches.”

Any way you prepare it, asparagus is a great versatile vegetable, a great taste of springtime on the plate.

Cut the asparagus into 1-inch lengths, saving eight tips for garnish. Simmer the shallot with the asparagus in the stock, covered, for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, steam the reserved tips until just tender and keep warm on the side.

Process the stock with the cooked shallots and asparagus in a blender or food processor until smooth, and pass through a strainer if necessary, if there are stringy bits left in the puree. Heat through and season to taste.

Work the butter and flour together into a paste, divide into smaller bits and, off the heat, whisk the small bits into the puree. Heat gently, stirring constantly, until thickened and well blended. Serve hot or chilled. Swirl the cream into each portion as you serve and garnish with asparagus tips.

Rosamond Richardson, “Food From Green Places: Vegetarian Recipes from Garden and Countryside” (Abbeville Press)

Zest the lemon and then slice lemon into 6-8 thin slices and set aside.

In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon butter. Saute onions and tomatoes in the butter until onions are translucent and tomatoes are blistered. Remove onions and tomatoes from pan and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and saute asparagus until tender but not overcooked, about 5-8 minutes (asparagus should be al dente). Remove asparagus from the pan and place on large plate or serving platter.

To the warm saute pan, add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the lemon slices. Saute the lemon slices until just brown, try to keep the round shape of the slices, and gently scrape the bottom of the pan to de-glaze. Remove lemon slices and reserve lemon butter sauce.

Arrange the salad: arrange lemon slices on top of the asparagus and spoon onions and tomatoes over lemons. Pour lemon butter sauce over salad, season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with lemon zest. Serve.

Prepare the aioli: Place crushed garlic, egg yolks, lemon juice, mustard and salt in a deep mixing bowl. Blend slowly with a mixer. Slowly add the olive oil, drop by drop, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise. Refrigerate before using.

Wash and trim the asparagus. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add some salt. Place asparagus in the water and boil, covered for about 5 minutes. Uncover and boil for another 3-5 minutes, asparagus tips should be tender while the stalks remain firm. Remove asparagus from water and place in ice water bath to stop cooking process.

Place 6-8 asparagus spears on each plate. Slice the hard boiled eggs in four, lengthwise, and arrange on the plate next to or on top of the asparagus. Pour aioli sauce over the center of the asparagus on each plate. Serve at room temperature.

Brother Victor-Antoine D’Avila-Latourrette, “In Celebration of the Seasons: Recipes from a Monastery Kitchen” (Ligouri/Triumph)

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 10:40 AM with the headline "It’s asparagus season in South Carolina + video."