We tried a local specialty this week: white asparagus. Asparagus is called Spargel in Germany, and you see hand-made signs everywhere when it is in season. They cover the asparagus up to keep photosynthesis from happening, which keeps it from turning green. (Poor little asparagus...treated like a mushroom). That is supposed to make it sweeter and more tender. Click the title above for more info. We bought it at a roadside stand nearby. They had five or six bins with different prices.
The more expensive kind is fatter and whiter. We opted for the second to cheapest for our first try. See the pink?
The lady at the stand told us we should peel the tough sides off - and offered to sell us a peeler! Our OXO peeler will do just fine, thank you.
She also said cook it in wasser, but we think we'll try to steam it next time. Marisa did a great job of cooking them up and I thought they went well with the chicken breast and sweet potato.
Okay, quick backstory: Last year when we first moved into our home, we heard about Spargel and even saw a few statues of it in a nearby town. Getting into the spirit of things, we tried to find some to cook but the season was over. We went to the American store which sells some local products and were excited to find some. When I got it home, I noticed on the back it said, "Made in China!" (By the way, we still haven't tried the canned kind from China). Ha! At least we were finally able to try the local version this year. Happy Spargel season!
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