After our not-so-wonderful winter and spring, opening day of the North Main St. farmers’ market in East Hampton was gratifyingly robust. Witness these gorgeous, freshly cut stalks of purple asparagus. And they’re organic to boot!
Thick stalks, like the ones here, can benefit from a trimming, although it’s not totally necessary. Partial peeling lets you have it both ways: creamy, pale green stalks topped with regal purple crowns.
The most important thing is the cooking method. If you want to keep their good looks, hot, fast and dry is the only way to go. Steaming or sautéing purple asparagus washes out the color. So roast or grill them over medium-high heat (375º) to maintain their color.
Cooked purple asparagus is delicious with a simple application of olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.
But a modest blanket of hollandaise sauce isn’t too terrible either. To get even fancier you can try this Herb Hollandaise Sauce from an earlier asparagus post.
