THE BRITISH asparagus season runs from early May to the middle or end of June, depending on the weather, so there are only five to seven weeks left in which to go berserk with it. At least T2 readers got off to a good start this week, with recipes for hollandaise sauce (Monday) and Italian asparagus frittata (Tuesday).

Here, the slender spears are finely sliced and tossed with crab, chilli and linguine — a long, fine pasta rather like skinny, flat spaghetti. It’s a very springlike dish, lighter than winter’s rich tomato, meat and cream sauces.

When buying asparagus, look for the freshest, greenest examples with tightly closed, lavender-tinted tips. The best will come from your own asparagus beds, or from suppliers who care enough to get this perishable vegetable to your table in the shortest possible time.

So far I have enjoyed asparagus grown by the Chinn family of Wye Valley fame, from Kensington Place Fish Shop (020-7243 6626) and from Secrett’s of Surrey, who have just launched an asparagus-by-post service. You can send a gift box of their freshly picked asparagus to anywhere in mainland UK for £9.99 (inc p&p) for 450g, or £16.99 (inc p&p) for 900g. Call 01483 520520 or order from www.secretts.co.uk — or pick your own at Secrett’s, Hurst Farm, Milford, Surrey, 9am to 1pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays until the middle of June.
Prep: 5 min Cook: 15 min

For this recipe you need only the first 5cm (2in) of each stalk. Use the rest for a quick soup or sauce.

Serves 4

400g asparagus
400g linguine or angelhair pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small red chilli, finely sliced
400g picked crab meat
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Sea salt and black pepper
150ml fish or vegetable stock

METHOD

Snap the ends off the asparagus and discard. Cut 5cm off the tip and cook the asparagus tips in simmering salted water for 2 minutes or until tender. Leave the actual tip whole, and finely slice any remaining stalk. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water until al dente.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat, and gently cook the garlic and chilli to infuse the oil. Add the asparagus, crab, half the parsley, sea salt and pepper, and toss well. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Drain the pasta and quickly toss with the asparagus, etc. Arrange on four warm pasta plates, scatter with the remaining parsley and serve.

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