Fat, purple asparagus, freshly harvested. Bright green fava beans in their pods. Fragrant green garlic and creamy King trumpet mushrooms. The spring bounty of the Berkeley farmer’s market is a fine one. Warm weather and crisp spring vegetables seem to beckon a dinner of light, small dishes. Fresh spring produce inspires with its beauty and promise of robust flavor. A simple dish celebrates these virtues by allowing the vegetables to speak for themselves, without being muffled by dominant sauces or meats.
My original idea, hatched on a long train ride home, was to make a dish of fava beans, another of asparagus, and a variation on Elise’s chard tzatziki. But time and patience are limited on a week day, while laziness is not, so the tzatziki was postponed for another dinner. I settled on just the fava beans and the asparagus. The fava beans didn’t turn out the way I expected, so I won’t bother posting the recipe here. The asparagus, however, were quite a different matter. I paired them with the King trumpet mushrooms, frying them in butter and sliced garlic. A splash of sherry adds a wonderful dimension to the mushrooms, which greedily soak up the sherry flavor. A few thin slices of naturally cured salami added a meaty, slightly tart flavor and some shavings of Gruyere rounded it out. Ah… thank the gods for spring.
Asparagus with Mushrooms
1 TBS butter
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2-3/4 lb. fresh purple asparagus, roughly chopped
3-4 large King trumpet mushrooms, sliced into rounds
a splash of sherry
a bit of dry cured salami, sliced into matchsticks
a few thin shavings of cheese, cut with a vegetable peeler (I used Gruyere, feel free to use Parmesan or Pecorino)
– In a large pan on medium to low heat, melt the butter and saute the garlic until transluscent.
– Add the asparagus and stir. When the asparagus begins to brighten, add the mushrooms and stir.
– Add butter if necessary. Cover the pan for a minute or two.
– Add the sherry and cover the pan. Cook for another couple of minutes and remove the cover.
– Add salami matchsticks, stir, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
– Turn off the flame and sprinkle cheese over the top.
Serves 4
