Sign of the season: asparagus

As chefs, Michael Wolf of Serendipity 3 at Caesars Palace and Richard Camarota of Sage at Aria are pleased to be close to California, which provides them with a good early supply of fresh asparagus. But here's something even fresher: Las Vegas asparagus.

Mark Ruben, director of the Gilcrease Orchard in the northwest part of the valley, has been harvesting the spring-green spears since the end of February.

"It's been very good," he said. "That's our main attraction right now."

Asparagus is a new crop for Gilcrease. Ruben said that last year he sampled a bit from the two acres he planted but that normally it takes two years for asparagus to be ready to be harvested.

His crop suffered a minor setback in the cold snap last week, he noted, but it was indeed a minor one.

"Any time you get close to freezing, it'll freeze," Ruben said. "The crown is actually 12 inches below the ground; it's just the shoots that come out. So the shoots die, but as you would harvest it normally, you're killing those shoots anyway. So it just sets it back temporarily."

Ruben said he expects to have asparagus -- $2 for a bunch, roughly three-quarters of a pound -- until early May. After that, he'll let the plants grow until they're about 6 feet tall.

"You want it to grow and start photosynthesizing, getting enough energy back down to the roots," he said. After the first frost in the fall he'll cut it back to the ground.

Camarota and Wolf said asparagus is a traditional harbinger of spring.

"I like the vibrant color that really says spring," Wolf said.

"It does kind of symbolize that, especially in the kitchen," Camarota said. "When we start seeing the green vegetables pop up again, asparagus is hand in hand with peas and fava beans, kind of the holy trilogy of spring."

In Chicago, Camarota said, he'd have to wait until May before he could start serving asparagus.

"We do enjoy the warmer weather coming around and getting things sooner," he said.

On Sage's spring menu, he has an asparagus salad with a Marcona almond vinaigrette and a cold-smoked poached egg.

Wolf said asparagus is good in "so many different things; you can eat it raw or you can cook it." He likes to use it in soup, chopped salads and as a side dish and is featuring it in an egg-white frittata with sun-dried tomatoes and shrimp, topped with a salad of more asparagus, more sun-dried tomatoes and field greens. And for spring he'll be serving New York Steak of Mind, a New York strip steak accompanied by asparagus and Romano-coated onion rings.

Camarota said concerns about the woody nature of asparagus can be quelled by peeling it. He starts peeling about an inch from the top down to the bottom, snapping off the bottom at the point of natural resistance. Pencil-thin asparagus doesn't have to be peeled, he added.

Wolf said he can understand why there are festivals devoted to asparagus. "It's all over the world. It's an ancient vegetable. It's got a lot of uses, a lot of variety. It's delicious."

"It is one of those things where, the three months when it's coming up and it's local, it's an awesome vegetable," Camarota agreed.

The only thing he doesn't like about it?

"When people ask me for it in December."

PARMESAN-CRUSTED ASPARAGUS

2 pounds (½-inch-thick) asparagus, trimmed

Salt and pepper

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1½ cups)

¾ cup panko bread crumbs

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Pinch cayenne

2 large egg whites

1 teaspoon honey

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray. Using fork, poke holes up and down stalks of asparagus. Toss asparagus with ½ teaspoon salt and let stand for 30 minutes on a paper towel-lined baking sheet.

Meanwhile, combine 1 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and cayenne in bowl. Transfer half of bread-crumb mixture to shallow dish and reserve remaining mixture.

Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip egg whites and honey on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape into 13-by-9-inch baking dish and toss asparagus in mixture. Working 1 spear at a time, dredge half of asparagus in bread crumbs and transfer to baking sheet. Refill shallow dish with reserved bread-crumb mixture and repeat with remaining half of asparagus.

Bake asparagus until just beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup Parmesan and continue to bake until cheese is melted and bread crumbs are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to platter. Serve.

Notes: Avoid pencil-thin asparagus for this recipe. Work quickly when tossing the asparagus with the egg whites, because the salt will rapidly begin to deflate the whites.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.

-- Recipe from Cook's Country

MASCARPONE, HAM AND ASPARAGUS TART

1 12-inch purchased pie crust

Filling:

1½ cups mascarpone

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

4 teaspoons prepared horseradish

4 teaspoons coarse-grained mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

Topping:

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

5 cups arugula

8 ounces thinly sliced ham, cut into thin strips

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon peel

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pie crust in bottom of a 10-inch tart pan with 1-inch-high sides and press all around sides. Bake crust until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.

Mix filling ingredients in medium bowl.

Drop asparagus in large pan of salted boiling water. Cook 3 minutes; drain. Cool in bowl of ice water. Drain, then slice each spear into 4 or 5 pieces. Toss in a medium bowl with remaining ingredients.

To assemble tart, spread filling evenly in cooled crust. Top with asparagus-ham-arugula mixture and serve.

Serves 6.

-- Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit magazine

ASPARAGUS WITH ROASTED-GARLIC AIOLI

2 medium heads garlic, left whole

1 tablespoon olive oil

1½ cups mayonnaise

2 teaspoons apple-cider vinegar

½ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

2 pounds medium asparagus, trimmed

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut off and discard tops of garlic heads to expose cloves, then brush each head with ½ tablespoon oil. Wrap heads together in foil and bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool to warm.

Squeeze garlic from skins into a food processor and puree with mayonnaise, vinegar, pepper and salt. Transfer aioli to a bowl and stir in chives.

Peel lower two-thirds of each asparagus stalk with a vegetable peeler. Cook asparagus in a wide 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well in a colander and rinse under cold water until asparagus is cool. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Serve asparagus with roasted-garlic aioli.

Notes: Aioli can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving. And asparagus can be cooked 2 hours ahead and kept, covered with dampened paper towels, at room temperature.

Serves 8 as an hors d'oeuvre.

-- Recipe from Gourmet magazine.

ASPARAGUS FETTUCCINE WITH PANCETTA

1 pound fettuccine

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, cut into 2-inch diagonal slices

6 ounces pancetta, cooked and chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup white wine

3 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain; return to pot.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add asparagus, pancetta and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus mixture to pasta.

In the same saute pan, bring the broth and wine to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the butter and salt and pepper, to taste. Add the wine mixture to the pasta.

To serve, top pasta with the chopped basil and grated cheese.

Serves 4

-- Recipe from the California Asparagus Commission

BACON-WRAPPED ASPARAGUS

1 pound fresh asparagus

8 to 10 strips bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and trim asparagus spears. Cut bacon strips in half crosswise. Wrap one-half strip bacon around each asparagus spear, leaving tip and end exposed. Lay on a cookie sheet with sides. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until bacon is cooked. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 16 to 20 spears

-- Recipe from the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board

CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP

1 can (14.5 or 15 ounces) asparagus cuts and tips

Milk

¼ cup finely chopped onions

¼ cup margarine or butter

¼ cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon

Asparagus spears for garnish (optional)

Drain asparagus, reserving liquid. Add enough milk to liquid to measure 4 cups; set aside. In food processor or electric blender, puree asparagus; set aside.

In 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft but not brown. Stir in flour, salt and bouillon. Add milk mixture and asparagus, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from heat; serve hot. Garnish with cooked asparagus spears, if desired.

Serves 5 (1 cup each)

-- Recipe from the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@review journal.com or 702-383-0474.