Instructions: Need only 3 to 4 minutes in lots of rapidly boiling salted water; fat stems may need a minute or two more; whereas the plump white variety needs a good 10 to 12 minutes (the latter shouldnt be at all al dente but suggestively floppy). Test it with the point of a knife. The thin wildlooking stuff (sprue) or the supermarket packages of slender tips only need a minute or so if you want to keep some crunch. If youre not eating the spears straight away. plunge them into cold water after cooking to keep them looking ultra green. Steaming is another option as is chargrilling on the barbecue. Small young spears can be stir fried.

What about the fancy asparagus pan?

Forget it. Its only good for cooking the stout stuff. Anything wispy will slip through the mesh and slither all over the floor when the basket is pulled out.

Whats the simplest thing that i can do with asparagus.

Serve it with a pool of melted butter. If you want you can clarify the butter by allowing it to stand after melting then pouring the clear liquid into a clean pan. leaving behind the milk solids at the bottom. Reheat before serving.

You could also flavour the butter. For lemon grass butter finely shred two stems of lemon grass and gently warm through with the melted butter for about 10 minutes. A little bit of chopped chilli and a splash of soy sauce could be added on serving up if you want to take it further. Alternatively flavour the butter with crushed garlic or a few chopped herbs.

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