Asparagus

Crystal loves crab. So much, in fact, that she is willing to risk physical harm to get it. You see, Crystal has recently developed an allergic reaction to crab meat. She feels as though the universe is playing some cruel joke on her—and she’s just not ready to accept it. Allergy or not, this is one of her favorite casseroles. There is just something so irresistible about the sweetness of the crab and how it interacts with the earthy taste of the asparagus. Serve this creamy casserole over toasted French bread (much like an open-faced sandwich) and pour yourself a glass of a crisp white wine—you’ll be very thankful that you are not allergic.

I first encountered this sauce while working in Umbria, and it’s one of my favorite summertime pastas. To me, this is Mother Nature’s last blast, her crescendo before fall. This is where you take everything she has to give, all those glorious summer ingredients, and toss them together to let the wonderful flavors marry. Then you just barely heat everything up, never actually letting the veggies cook, so they maintain their fresh flavors. Punctuate this with a salty grate of ricotta salata and say, “Mmmmm . . .”

This is one of my best recipes (if I do say so myself!) and it’s become one of my mom’s favorites, too. People will say, “What is this?” and then, “Who knew you could eat raw asparagus?” It’s simple and unique and, I promise, it will make you a rock star with your guests.

When soft-shell crabs are in season, it’s the one time of year I like being crabby! I adore these guys perched on a delicious veggie salad with garlic mayo. The beauty of the soft-shell crab is you can eat the whole shootin’ match—on a salad, in a sandwich, however. Who says being crabby isn’t fun?

Spring is a short-lived but well-loved season in the Mississippi Delta. All is verdant and lush with the scent of fresh-tilled earth in the air. When spears of asparagus are combined with farm-fresh eggs, to me, it all signals spring. I particularly enjoy this dish for breakfast with sourdough bread for sopping up the luxuriant, velvety cream sauce.

Broiled asparagus is the vegetable side dish I prepare most often when I’m throwing a big dinner party because it’s sophisticated but quick and easy to make. Actually, I prepare it as often as I can, whether I’m having a dinner party or not, because it is my absolute favorite vegetable. I’d eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could. The timing here depends on how thick the asparagus are—they can be pencil thin or super thick. Just pierce them with a knife; when it goes in easily, they’re ready to be broiled to get some nice, brown color.

Reading through this book, you may pick up on a theme: I hide nutritious vegetables under generous amounts of sauce or cheese so everyone will eat them. Here is an example of my fun cat-and-mouse game played to perfection: creamy, oniony dressing is lapped over crisp-tender asparagus—and everyone’s happy!

As traditionally seasonal delicacies like asparagus, strawberries, and peaches have become everyday food, the idea that they are a treat has somehow stuck—but with none of the flavor or meaning. Year-round asparagus has become a stand-in for a kind of perfunctory idea of good eating—the Whole Foods near us recently installed a permanent granite waterfall shrine to asparagus in their entrance—yet is a shadow of its tasty springtime self. When you put just-picked asparagus on a hot grill, they are so juicy they actually jump as they start to cook.

This dish is all about timing: poach the eggs first and keep them in a warm spot.

Try this variation of the familiar Greek egg-lemon soup in the springtime when the first tender shoots of asparagus hit the markets.

The glistening vegetables in bright shades of green and orange in this garlicky dish are a reminder that summer’s just ahead. Frozen shelled edamame (fresh soybeans) are available in natural food stores and many supermarkets. We like to keep a bag on hand to add to soups, stews, and sautés.

This sandwich came about in our favorite way: by visiting the greenmarket, picking up the cheese, and then meandering through the farmers’ stands to see what fresh offerings might be paired with it. It was June; we came away with beautiful asparagus, red onions, basil, and a rustic bread—all the fixins for an open-faced sandwich on the grill. (If you don’t have an outdoor grill, you can use a grill pan.) Thinking back to the days when cooks in diners put hubcaps atop burgers as they cooked, to steam them a bit, we recommend either closing the grill or inverting a metal bowl over the sandwich to keep the heat in and help melt the cheese. By the way, if you can’t find or do not care for Vacherin, substitute any good melting cheese.

This is not merely everyday Italian, but Italian food in a flash. This dish would also work with penne, but definitely try to use one of these short tube shapes, which mimic the shape of the asparagus pieces and make for a beautiful presentation; with spaghetti, it’s just not the same.

The beauty of a baked pasta like this is that you can really use any vegetables you want, as long as you cut them all to the same size. This version uses a lot of them, because I like the variety in textures and flavors. But if you’re not a huge fan of any one of these vegetables, just omit it, and use the same quantity of another. If you prefer a simpler dish with fewer vegetables, you can do that too. It’s really up to you. You can also feel free to assemble one large lasagna in a 13 X 9-inch pan from these ingredients.

This is one of those dishes that was born out of my years of catering and the necessity to come up with something new for cocktail parties. Roasting the asparagus is fast and easy and gives a lot more flavor than simply steaming.

When asparagus is in season in springtime, use it to capture the flavors of the garden with a minimal amount of effort. It cooks quickly by any method—steaming, boiling, grilling, or sautéing, as here—and it’s very easy to prepare. To trim asparagus of its woody stem end, simply hold one end of the spear in one hand, the other end in the other hand, and bend gently until the spear snaps—which it will do exactly where the stem starts to get woody. Asparagus has its own built-in sous chef.

My brother and sister and I craved this dish so often as kids that we finally learned to make it ourselves; it is actually one of the first dishes I ever made for myself. These days I consider it special-occasion food, not everyday fare, and it’s especially good for Sunday brunch. Add champagne and a fruit salad and you’re done. The basil aioli keeps for up to a week in the fridge and it works as a dip for veggies, or as a sandwich spread.

If you find regular lasagna with a tomato sauce too heavy for summer meals, this is a great alternative, and it’s a real stunner on the plate. A sun-dried tomato pesto is layered between the pasta and vegetables, adding a bit of sweetness to the dish.