Even though it's now available all year round, many people continue to associate fresh asparagus with spring. Pasta primavera wouldn't be right without the delicate spears and a meal of poached salmon, asparagus and hollandaise is a perfect spring dinner.
Except when I'm using it in salads, I prefer the fat spears to the skinny ones; they seem to have more flavour, although the bottom parts need to be peeled. I've seen expensive asparagus peelers, but regular vegetable peelers work almost as well, and are much more versatile. I also never use special asparagus cookers - tall, narrow pots that boil the tough asparagus bottoms, while allowing the tender tips to gently steam. A good tip when boiling asparagus is to tie the spears in a bundle with kitchen string - leave a big bow, and when the vegetable is cooked, lift out the bundle by the string with a chopstick or kitchen tongs.
A fast and easy appetiser is cooked asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. Asparagus is also excellent roasted, which concentrates the flavour. Blanch the spears then put in baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven at high heat until they're slightly shrivelled. Then add some balsamic vinegar.
I never ate fresh white asparagus until I went to Austria a few years ago. Fortunately, my visit coincided with the short, white asparagus season. It differs from the green variety in that it's grown in complete darkness, which means that the chlorophyll doesn't develop. White asparagus is very tender, with a unique flavour. It's best prepared simply: cook it briefly, drain it well, then blot with a clean dishcloth to remove all excess water. Lay the spears on a plate, then pour on some melted butter and sprinkle with minced chives.