White Asparagus
They look creepy, but white asparagus is considered a delicacy. The Germans go absolutely crazy for them in the spring, and white asparagus is like a cult vegetable. Spargelfest (asparagus festivals) are a big deal, and most Germans eat them at least once a day in season. Cultivation and harvest is labor-intensive, and they are only sold fresh for a short time.
In American grocery stores, we pretty much expect to have everything year round. Most Europeans don't understand why someone would buy cherries in the winter and tangerines in the summer.
White asparagus is grown under ground away from sunlight, so green chlorophyll never forms. The flavor is milder, and it's often doctored up with rich sauces. It's an expensive luxury food worthy of elaborate recipes, so the chefs try to out do each other.
Despite that delicate pale look, white asparagus is actually tougher and more fibrous than the skinny green stalks. You're supposed to peel them before cooking, and of course save the scraps for soup. (I didn't.)
If I'd paid $10 a pound for these I might have, but I found a large bunch for a buck in the QFC "bargain produce" bin. I'm not sure what was "wrong" with them.
I've always passed by that bin with my nose in the air, thinking it was just old stuff the store was trying to get rid of fast. That is sometimes the case, but it's also where they move produce that is too large, small or misshapen to fit in their perfect displays.
The National Geographic Magazine had an article in March about "ugly food" and how much perfectly good produce grocery stores and restaurants waste. That's the kind of bargains I sometimes find in those $1 mesh bags at QFC.
So I roasted the white asparagus in the oven with olive oil, garlic and salt. Simple but pretty good, with enough left over to make a cold salad the next day.
Nothing ugly about that, especially with the first grilled steak of the season.
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