Betty’s Table

Asparagus

March, the harbinger of Spring, comes in like a lion, so the saying goes, and leaves as gentle as a baby lamb, even here in San Francisco.

At this time of year, my food memories turn naturally to my grandfather’s house in Atlanta where I spent my early childhood. Grandfather had a field of narcissus off the dining room, two hundred rose bushes to prune and of course, asparagus that grew by the side of the old clay tennis court.

We dutifully measured the pale green tips appearing in the wet ground in the morning and once again in the evening to see if the tender spears had grown enough to cut and quickly blanch for our dinner. The butter we used was pale and sweet, not salted. Just a little drizzle of melted butter and that was the perfect first course. Spring leg of lamb often followed and we ended the meal with strawberry rhubarb crisp. The sweet promise of spring existed in that meal for me.

To get that surge of spring taste in your mouth, just go down to The Ferry Plaza market on Saturdays when Zuckerman brings in his local crop of asparagus and you will have the real thing! Of course, you may have to wait in line with the early morning chefs filling their bags for the day.

Asparagus should be picked early, with the ends tightly closed. I like the plumper spears, but the pencil are good too. If you are at the supermarket, ask the green grocer where they came from, when they came in, and of course, check the bottoms of the spears for any woodiness or dryness. Feel free, as I do, to reject the bundles the markets offer you. I prefer to hand select just the ones I want for my table.

Below are two of the many ways we recently incorporated Asparagus:

· Asparagus soup with asparagus flan

· Asparagus tempura with shiso and shiso aioli