The chef gave tips on cooking asparagus

In order to reveal the taste of asparagus, to balance its herbaceous taste, but to preserve the texture and crispness, it is necessary to use products containing fats. It can be olive oil, butter or truffle oil, as well as egg yolk or hard cheeses like parmesan or pecorino, chef Anton Kochura told Izvestia's Food Without Borders gastronomic project.

Before cooking, the asparagus is cleaned from below by cutting off the hard bottom tip at a 45-degree angle and lightly scraping off the densest layers with a knife.

"The earliest, young shoots of asparagus (the upper parts of its newly grown stem) are eaten raw," the expert said. — It is enough to cut off the shoot from the lower fibrous part, wash and season with olive oil, salt or lemon juice. It is good to add such asparagus to salads, combining it with leafy greens or mint."

The second, most common and universal method is blanching. Asparagus is immersed in boiling water for a short time, and then transferred to cold water. This preserves the texture of the asparagus, leaving it crisp and supple. Medium shoots are dipped in boiling water for 45 seconds – 1 minute. For thin shoots, 30 seconds is enough. Blanched asparagus is good to use as a side dish for fish, while it can be fried a little more in a frying pan with a little oil.

The third popular method is cooking asparagus over an open fire or on a grill with plenty of oil. In this case, the asparagus absorbs a light smell of smoke. The main thing is to pre—blanch it before grilling.

"The classic combination is poached egg and asparagus. Combinations of asparagus with ham, strachatella, cod liver, as well as red and black caviar are also interesting," the chef shared his experience. - Different bright spices and dressings are perfect for asparagus: garlic, lemon or lime juice, ginger, paprika, hot black and white peppers."

Asparagus is responsible for freshness, so it behaves well in salads. A variety of leafy greens are ideally combined with it: salads, sorrel, chard. The combinations of asparagus and meat gastronomy are interesting. Blanched asparagus stewed in melted butter is an ideal monogarnir, suitable for both fish and meat and combined with any sauce, the expert believes.

You can read more tips from chefs and exclusive recipes on the Izvestia Zen channel "Food Without Borders".