French Garden Encyclopedia

"Asparagus are a passion in France." – from Edible French Garden









Asparagus seems to be one of those garden staples that has yet to be effected by the hands of monoculture tampering. That is to say, a good stalk of asparagus, if ripe, if hopefully local, still holds onto what must have been an ages old taste of the raw woods combined with the sort of silkiness and creaminess when cooked that only it can produce. With wonderful names like the Argenteuil and the Jersey Knight and UC 157, what's not to love except for the fact that we don't see enough of them being bred into the world. My favorite image of asparagus is a wild patch that I had once seen on some old and unused land from a family farm. The area had only a few solo stalks spriting randomly

up out of the ground. By themselves, and when not expecting to see them, asparagus are quite a sight, long, barblike, dark green, one can only be left to wonder why the wildlife had not plucked this up just yet. Cut those down at the base, and we know the rest. French chef's it is said go ahead and peel the stalks before cooking, then boil those until tender and cover with mere salt and pepper or hollaindaise. Maybe use leftovers for the omelete the next morning. No matter how you look at it, asparagus is quite a gem and would have to claim a sizeable portion of my own potager garden.