It's Asparagus Season! It's Delicious & A Superfood!
I love asparagus! My favorite asparagus companion is eggs - in any form. Asparagus + Eggs = BFFs. Usually I enjoy the first harvest by grilling the asparagus and then make a quick Hollandaise sauce to slather on top. But I have shared that recipe with you many times. So let’s change things up. Everything in this recipe comes from the Doylestown Farmers Market (now open for the season - yay!!!). Beyond being delicious and a harbinger of Spring, asparagus is super healthy. According to Anthony William in his book Life Changing Foods, “Asparagus contains phytochemical compounds such as chlorophyll and lutein that act as critical organ cleansers. They get deep into organs such as the liver, spleen, pancreas, and kidneys, scrubbing out the toxins they find there. Chlorophyll bonded to amino acids such as glutamine, threonine, and serine provides an avenue for heavy metal detox… When we’re under immense stress, we tend to lose B vitamins very rapidly. Asparagus, which is high in very easily absorbable B vitamins, helps us reestablish our proper levels of key nutrients… And we can’t talk about asparagus without mentioning how valuable it is to alkalizing the body by flushing out unproductive acids. We live in a very acidic environment, and if we want to remain free from disease, we must constantly work to keep ourselves alkaline with help from trusted friends like asparagus.”
The best way to store your asparagus is like flowers, in a vase. Asparagus does not like the cold. Cut off the bottom inch and place the spears in a straight sided glass container filled with about an inch or less of water and replenish as needed. Enjoy this “bouquet” on your counter top and use within a few days. Enjoy the following recipe thoroughly, knowing the delicious result is working magic on the inside for your overall health.
Bacon, Eggs and Asparagus Salad
You’ll need:
Spring Mix lettuce
Hershberger Heritage Farm Bacon
Eggs
Asparagus
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Optional (but highly recommended) - a grating of Parmesan cheese
To make the bacon; because Hershberger’s bacon is thick cut (which I LOVE), I like to bake it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I cover a sheet pan with tin foil, place a cooling rack on top of the foil and lay my bacon on the rack. It’s easier to handle the bacon so I suggest laying it out cold and let it come to room temperature while the oven heat up. Bake the bacon for 25 minutes, then flip each piece over and bake for approximately 10 more minutes or until you’ve reached your personal crispiness level. Let cool then stack and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
To make the asparagus; I love grilling asparagus (toss with olive oil, salt and pepper to coat before placing on a super hot grill) or sauteeing it with olive oil, salt and pepper. It’s very easy to overcook it so with either method you are only cooking it for a total of 3 minutes.That’s it! Remove it from the heat immediately and place on a plate. You want it to still have texture and crunch. It will continue to cook after it is removed from the heat so DON’T OVER COOK IT! Over cooked asparagus is why people don’t like asparagus. Save your asparagus ends for vegetable stock or use to make a pureed soup.
To make the eggs; your choice - fried, poached, soft boiled, scrambled - anything soft. Personally I like an over-easy egg with a very runny yolk to cover everything like a sauce.
To plate: Spring mix on the bottom of the plate, top with asparagus, top with an egg, sprinkle with bacon and Parmesan cheese. Viola! Enjoy!
