Nosh: Asparagus season

Asparagus season

As you may or may not know, Germans go nuts for asparagus and from April - June, it's everywhere. Around the corner from my house, I can choose from 4 - 5 different farms and buy asparagus fresh from the field.
In German, the word for asparagus is "spargel".
Farms mostly sell the white variety of asparagus. That means they harvest the asparagus one by one before it grows out of the ground. Before it has a chance to go green. It's more tender and younger than green asparagus. And, ridiculously inexpensive when it's so plentiful.

Also, strawberries are in season and I hit the jackpot at the local market. 99 cents for a huge pile, and not one single strawberry was mushed or rotted.

So that's what's fresh today. The menu:

Asparagus with hollandaise sauce and new potatoes
Strawberry and Arugula Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

To make the asparagus:
Peel 1 lb or .5 kilo asparagus (if using white) and set in cold water until ready to use. Steam or boil the asparagus until tender but not overcooked, usually 12 minutes. Serve with hollandaise and boiled new potatoes. (Hollandaise recipes are plentiful on the internet.) Sprinkle with fresh chopped chives.

The strawberry salad was: arugula, quartered strawberries, sliced green apple, and red onion rings. Use your favorite balsamic vinaigrette. Toss the arugula with the dressing and mound in plates. Then top with the other ingredients. I also garnished with a handful of chopped hazelnuts for each salad and fresh herbs (whatever you have on hand ... I used a mixture of fresh basil and chives).

See the photos.