The English asparagus season has started which means we can enjoy delicious asparagus with less food miles and more nutrients as the time from field to plate is substantially shorter.
Asparagus are high in vegetable protein and contain nearly all essential amino-acids. Asparagus also contain good levels of iron to keep your blood cells stay healthy and keep your energy up, the antioxidants beta-carotene (to help build collagen) and lutein (to support healthy eyes), folic acid for healthy red blood cells and vitamin K to support blood coagulation and bone formation. Asparagus contain good levels of Vitamin C which helps absorb iron from vegetable sources. If you pair your asparagus up with some omega-3 rich eggs, you increase protein and also get a good dose of vitamin B12 that helps metabolise food. Eggs are rich in essential fats (omega 6 mainly unless the hens have been fed a fax-seed rich diet) which helps absorb the vitamin A precursors (beta-carotene and lutein) and vitamin K in the asparagus.
For this recipe I sliced the asparagus in two, gently grilled them to preserve nutrients and served them with a couple of eggs fried in olive oil, also under moderate heat to avoid the oil oxidasing). I finished it off with a few gratings of dried hake roe (hueva de merluza) and a good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. If you can’t find dried hake roe, you could try adding some smoked mackerel flaked very small. I like pulling the asparagus from under the eggs and dipping them in the runny yolks…messy but fun! Serve with a green salad and some crusty bread for a more substantial meal.