• Login
  • My Cart (0)
The Chef's Garden Logo
  • About
  • Chefs
  • At Home
  • Market
  • Blog
  • Roots
  • Book
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • CVI
  • I am a: 
Versatility of Fresh Asparagus
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Versatility of Fresh Asparagus
May 2, 2017

Versatility of Fresh Asparagus

Signs of spring are everywhere, from glorious blooms on trees to robins singing at dawn, and from sunshine-yellow daffodils to the first harvests of asparagus. “And it’s really amazing,” says Culinary Vegetable Institute Chef Matt Ward, “how forcefully the asparagus shoots through the dirt, pushing mounds of it aside to get to the sun.” That’s a real sign of spring!

On April 18, Matt appeared on Fox 8 Cleveland, along with Farmer Lee Jones, to celebrate the annual emergence of this incredible vegetable. On the show, Matt created an asparagus tartine on toasted sour dough bread that he’d baked the day before. A tartine is an open-faced sandwich, one that usually features an elegant spread of toppings. Matt’s tartine included fava bean blooms, pea blooms, micro carrots and petite pea tendrils, along with asparagus prepared in numerous ways.

More specifically, this tartine contained peeled asparagus that had been placed in an ice water blanch, along with pickled asparagus, juice from the tips of the vegetable and fire roasted tips, with a dressing also made from asparagus.



The Chef’s Garden asparagus is so sweet that, when eaten raw, it tastes like sugar. Lee shares how it all starts with the soil the asparagus grows in, describing how crucial it is to rebuild soil sustainably and naturally, avoiding chemicals – and then harvesting the crops at just the right time.

Here, you can watch the entire interview.

Vegetable Showcase Dinner: Featuring Asparagus

If you are hungering for fresh asparagus that is so sweet it boasts hints of caramel and honey, consider attending the Vegetable Showcase Dinner that focuses on asparagus at the Culinary Vegetable Institute on Friday, May 5th from 6:30-9:30. There, the team of chefs will explore every iteration of the amazing asparagus. Find more information here.

Even More About Asparagus

When Matt was younger, he didn’t like asparagus. It was floppy, it was mushy, it was an odd color, almost army green. But when he realized how all of that unpleasantness was caused by overcooking, he began to look at asparagus in a whole new way, and he now loves the spring vegetable.

“You can shave it and blanch it, fire roast it, and add burnt edges. You can pickle it – just don’t be too aggressive. Use a nice, light touch. You can juice it, you can wrap it in bacon, you can use parmesan cheese on it. Prepare it in a classic way, doing so perfectly, or experiment with it, maybe by creating an asparagus sorbet.”
Recently, Matt says, Jamie Simpson – the executive chef of the Culinary Vegetable Institute – made an “awesome butter using ground asparagus.” When it was placed in an asparagus mold and dusted with asparagus powder, it looked like an actual stalk.



Lee shares another key difference between the bland green stuff you may have experienced and delicious fresh asparagus. “Asparagus is found on store shelves twelve months a year now,” he says. “It’s grown in South America and Central America, and then shipped to the United States. In transit, it loses flavor.”

The Chef’s Garden, though, harvests its asparagus daily throughout the crop’s natural season. The team carefully unearths each plant, then clips its base. The asparagus is then immediately placed in a dark box to maintain its color. We can harvest it and have it in your kitchen in as little as 24 hours.



If you’re a chef who is interested in adding our fresh asparagus to your dishes, contact us! And did you know we offer home delivery service?

  • Prev Post Roots 2016: Cocktail Pairings
  • Next Post Why Are Bees Important?

Share

  • Asparagus,
  • Chef and Farmer,
  • Fox 8 Cleveland

Featured Posts

  • Citrus Lace: What’s There Not to Like? Thumbnail
    Citrus Lace: What’s There Not to Like? January 9, 2023
  • Lovely (Underutilized!) Licorice Lace Thumbnail
    Lovely (Underutilized!) Licorice Lace November 3, 2022
  • Pea Tendrils: Identical Cousins, Different in Every Way Thumbnail
    Pea Tendrils: Identical Cousins, Different in Every Way September 16, 2022

Categories

  • Video
  • Farmer Lee Jones
  • Roots Conference
  • Chef
  • Team
  • #ThisIsFarming
  • Chef and Farmer
  • Stories
  • Lettuce
  • Microgreens

Archive

you may also like

  • Perfectly Petite Veggie: Celebrating the Cuke with Bloom Thumbnail
    Perfectly Petite Veggie: Celebrating the Cuke with Bloom
  • All About Fresh Asparagus Thumbnail
    All About Fresh Asparagus
  • Chef Curtis Duffy shares plenty of culinary news and insights Thumbnail
    Chef Curtis Duffy shares plenty of culinary news and insights

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

  • I am a: 
  • Help
    • Sizing Standards
    • Customer Service
    • Shipping Info
    • Corporate Giving
    • Food Safety
  • Contact Us
    • Market
    • Careers
    • Press
    • Media Kit
  • CVI
The Chef's Garden Logo
Copyright 2023
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions