Forget the Snow - Asparagus Means Spring

Spring should not have been in the air at the last Friday. A winter storm was barreling down on us from Alaska and snowfall was predicted as low as sea level.

But there they were, spring green stalks in a bunch, sticking out from between the beets and potatoes. Asparagus!

“Yes it’s that time of year,” said Sotiria Trombois from Field of Greens. “Asparagus is usually here March, April and May. It’s just a little bit early this year. ”

The farmers market was on the slim side this week, with several vendors absent thinking there would be a storm.

“That made things great for the other guys,” said Mill Valley Farmers Market director Lynn Bagley, pointing at vendors whose stalls were packed with customers. Despite the chill, it was sunny with blue skies, and there definitely wasn't any snow.  

My friends over at Bloomfield Farms called out to me, “We’re back!” They'd been ‘mudded’ out last week and stayed home to do damage control. Karen Collins of Bloomfield Farms said that their asparagus wasn’t quite ready yet but would be appearing soon.

I had believed asparagus to be some sort of plant that I might find growing in a Pacific Northwest rainforest. It looks kind of like a straight uncoiled fern, sort of pre-historic and swampy. I was dead wrong. Asparagus need good drainage and its origins can be traced back to the Mediterranean.

Regardless of where it shoots up, asparagus means spring. And they are a tricky bunch to grow. I found out after reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle that you should wait two full growing seasons before picking your first stalk of asparagus. But after you’ve patiently made your asparagus bed, the patch will reward your for years to come.

When picking out asparagus at the market, I used to ignorantly lean toward thin wispy stalks, thinking they must be more succulent. Wrong again. Just because some stalks are thick and meaty looking, it doesn’t mean that they’re older and duller. All asparagus come out of the ground a certain girth and fat stalks aren’t any less tender than thin ones. Instead, look for firm spears with tight buds at the head.

There’s nothing quite like the first asparagus stalks of the season and they’re finally here, which means spring is just around the corner. Let’s hope last weekend’s freeze didn’t hurt the harvest.

Pearled Barley with Asparagus, Roasted Fennel and Feta

• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
• 2 cups pearled barley
• 2 cups pealed cubed winter squash (I used acorn squash)
•  ¼ cup Olive oil
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbs chopped tarragon
• 1 large fennel bulb
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (I used a French Sheep’s Feta that I found at Whole Foods. It was salty and semi-firm, very nice.)

 Directions:

Cook barley as directed. I usually cook two cups of barley in four cups of water yielding about 5 cups of cooked barley. Let barley cool, toss with a little bit of olive oil to keep it from glomming up. Peel and cube winter squash. Toss with Olive oil and crushed garlic. Cut fennel bulb into wedges. Gently baste with olive oil and crushed garlic. Spread squash and fennel out onto a large baking dish together. Sprinkle with kosher salt and ground pepper and tarragon. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, turning veggies once, or until vegetables are tender. Remove from oven and let cool. Chop up roasted fennel into smaller pieces. Blanch asparagus in boiling water for about 2 minutes - do not overcook! Shock asparagus in cold water to stop the cooking process, chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Toss all vegetables into barley, add ¼ cup Olive oil and 3 Tbs Balsamic vinegar. Add crumbled Feta and salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature or chill. The fennel adds a rich and unusual spring flavor, very subtle.

Serves 8