One thing that I noticed in the spring of my first full year living in the UK was that restaurants have special menus featuring asparagus. I love that! By the end of the long dark winter, we are ready for something new and colorful. These items like asparagus with availability for such a short season remind us to be present and local with our weekly menus and food choices.
It’s so easy to get into a rut and accustomed to eating the same thing morning, noon, and night, year around. While it may simplify things to a degree, unfortunately, it doesn’t usually work for optimal health because we are wired to be in connection and interaction with our physical environment. Those of us who have a family heritage from a different location than where we currently live may have some sensitivities to local food in the short term. The longer you live in a place, the more likely you are to adapt to the local regional and seasonal dishes throughout the year.
In Northern Europe and much of North America, we’ve been eating hearty stews and heavier meats to stay warm through the winter and now it’s time to lighten things up as we cycle through the first harvest of spring through to autumn. Read more about the best of Spring in New Season, New Menu.
Enjoy asparagus for these few short week!
Recipe: Asparagus, shallot, and goat cheese omelette
Ingredients (serves 1):
- 3-5 asparagus spears
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 eggs
- 1-2 oz goat cheese
- butter or olive oil for cooking
- salt and pepper to taste
- sliced avocado (optional)
- Prosciutto or smoked salmon (optional)
Directions:
- Prepare asparagus. Either blanch in well salted boiling water or grill after tossing in olive oil, salt, & pepper. Set aside.
- Heat small to medium skillet.
- Add 1/2-1 T. olive oil, then minced shallots. Sprinkle with salt.
- Sauté and stir approx. 5 minutes until shallot is softens. Cook longer if you desire a sweeter, more caramelized shallots.
- Once cooked, put shallots aside in a bowl.
- Whisk eggs with salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Heat pan to medium (safe dishes by using the same one you used for the shallot) and melt butter or drizzle olive oil to hot pan.
- Add eggs mixture to hot oiled pan. Reduce heat slightly.
- Once the egg mixture is cooked on the bottom and started to cook up around the sides, use a spatula to flip it.
- Add the asparagus, shallots, and goat cheese (and optionally prosciutto, smoked salmon, or avocado) to one half.
- Fold the other half over the added ingredients, turn off the heat and cover.
- Wait 3-5 minutes for the cheese to melt.
- Serve on a plate with freshly ground pepper.
- Enjoy the deliciousness of the season.
