Saturday 2 February 2008

Wild Asparagus

If it's February in Ibiza it can only mean one thing - it's wild asparagus time.



I tracked down this specimen hiding in some spikey foliage but left it there until next week when there'll be lots more and enough to gather for cooking.

Almost a year ago when i related the tale of picking wild asparagus to my father he gave me some excellent advice - 'Be sure to wash it before you eat it.' I informed him I'd be dropping it boiling, salted water before ingesting it.

Did you know that French novelist Marcel Proust waxed lyrical about asparagus because of its medicinal properties as a salve for urinary infections? He claimed that asparagus "...transforms my chamber-pot into a flask of perfume," probably in an outrageous French accent.

I think I prefer my father's quote and he's never written a novel in his life!

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