Bring me my spears!

There isn’t a more exciting time of year for food than when British asparagus hits the shops, but it’s only around for a month or two, so grab every eating opportunity while the season lasts. Each of these recipes showcases a different method of cooking the succulent spears, using every last part to make sure nothing ends up in the bin

RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING POLLYANNA COUPLAND AND EMILY GUSSIN

PHOTOGRAPHS TOM SHINGLER

Shaved asparagus salad with goat’s cheese, watercress and grapefruit

BELOW THE SNAP: ESSENTIAL PREP WISDOM

Most of us prepare asparagus by bending the spears until they snap – separating the woody, more fibrous stalk from the tender tip. It’s a solid technique but a little wasteful, as that snappedoff end usually ends up in the bin.

Once you’ve snapped your spear, use a sharp knife to finely slice rounds from the bit you’d usually discard, starting at the broken end. When your knife starts to meet serious resistance or ‘woodiness’, that’s when you stop. The rounds you cut off should be included in your recipe; save the woody leftovers in the freezer for stock (or use to make a crunchy topping for your dish, like the gremolata on p24). With such a fleeting season, putting asparagus in the bin should be avoided at all costs!

Asparagus is just as good raw as it is cooked – as this salad sets out to prove. Using a vegetable peeler to create ribbons of asparagus ensures they’re good and tender but still have that crunch and grassy taste, which works wonderfully with the tang of grapefruit and creaminess of the goat’s cheese

Shaved asparagus salad with goat’s cheese, watercress and grapefruit

Serves 4 (or 6 as a side)

Hands-on time 20 min

KNOW-HOW

There’s no need to snap the woody end off the asparagus spears here because they’re shaved into thin ribbons. Even the more fibrous parts of the stalk will be nice and tender.

EASY SWAPS

Replace the pumpkin seeds with any nuts or seeds you fancy (or happen to have in the cupboard).

• 2 pink or ruby grapefruit

• 2 tsp runny honey

• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (see Easy Swaps)

• 250g asparagus

• 50g watercress

• 200g soft goat’s cheese (we used abergavenny), chopped into small chunks

• 1 tsp sumac

1 Use a small serrated knife to top and tail a grapefruit. Sit on one of the cut ends and cut down the side of the fruit, following its natural curve, to remove the skin and white pith. Holding the grapefruit over a small bowl to catch any juice, cut in between the membranes to remove the individual segments, then put them in another small bowl. Repeat with the second fruit.