Blooming in March: Prickly Asparagus - Asparug Hachoresh - אספרג החורש - A Foraging Challenge in Challenging Times

March 2020 אדר תש"פ

What’s in bloom in Israel this month? A Foraging Challenge in Challenging Times

Prickly Asparagus  
Asparug Hachoresh  
אספרג החורש

What I love most about nature is its seasons, and the knowledge that even when one plant finishes another one will grow and take its place. Even better a new flower pops up and distracts you from the passing of the previous one.  I’m trying to focus on that now during our current crisis.  I’ve been foraging for asparagus the last couple of weeks as the crisis escalates and I feel that the asparagus and Corona are entwined in my mind and even in my taste buds.  However the asparagus season will finish and the Corona crisis will pass and something new and beautiful will grow in its place and we will move forward.  The words of Ecclesiastes 3:1 have never been truer “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven...a time to plant and a time to uproot....a time to embrace and a time to refrain...".

We are now at the height of the Israeli spring.  This is peak season for foraging as so many flowers, leaves, new fruits and seed pods are growing. It is a cornucopia of flavours and textures out there.  The one plant that embodies foraging for me more than any other is the wild asparagus because it is such a delicacy and tastes exquisite.  That is why in this month’s blog I am making an exception as the asparagus plant actually flowers in September.  However I feel it is more important to give it its true credit during the edible stage.

90% of the year the asparagus is just a prickly shrub that is under everyone’s radar.  It grows mostly in shade so is often shadowed by other trees or bushes surrounding it.  It actually has a unique beauty as it entirely consists of little spikes with no leaves meaning it more resembles a scientist’s sketch of an atom or DNA than a plant.

Tiny flower

Pea Sized fruit

  In September it will sprout a tiny white flower which will be replaced by a perfect round green ball about the size of a pea, its official fruit.  These will disappear and we are left with just the spikes again until....the spring.
  

From February onward the plant will sprout long thin shoots from the earth underneath the bush, not from the bush itself.  Spotting those shoots is a skill in itself.  If you have ever enjoyed looking at optical illusions or those Magic Eye books where you have to strain your eye to find something then you will enjoy this.  You need to scan the surrounding area for the spiky asparagus  bush and then raise your eye above the bush but instead of looking into the distance try and focus on a potential shoot poking out of the bush. 

Spot the shoot above the bush!

Fresh Cultivated Asparagus

Don’t expect to see something similar to what you would find in the supermarket, the wild asparagus shoot is much thinner and more nobbly.  Each bush only yields about 4 or 5 shoots depending on the size, but you can go back to it every few days to see if more have appeared.


You can nosh on it while you are out wandering or gather a bunch and bring it home for supper.   Add it raw to a salad or saute it very gently in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper or see the delicious recipe below.   However you eat it, the flavour is intense and tastier than cultivated asparagus in my opinion. 

I’m now going to have to discuss something a bit sensitive – urine!  One of the side effects of eating asparagus is that it causes your body to release a sulphur compound called mercaptan which gives out a strong smell when you pee.  I once went foraging with a friend and she spent two days thinking she had a terrible disease because of the smell from her pee until she finally confided in her husband who had a good laugh and told her it was because of the asparagus!  Apparently not everyone can smell the very distinct smell, this is because we all excrete it but we have different receptors and not all of us can smell it. 

Asparagus is rich in Vitamins C, E and K, folic acid, beta carotene, zinc, magnesium, selenium and chromium ( which helps insulin store glucose better). It is a natural diuretic and so helps the body get rid of extra fluids and salts (good for people with high blood pressure).  It benefits the kidneys as it has cleaning and purifying benefits. Ideal for keeping us healthy at a time when we need to keep away from doctors and hospitals.

Interestingly despite its ubiquity in the Israeli landscape and its culinary qualities it isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Tanach.  No Boaz feeding Ruth asparagus, no Jacob tempting Rachel with it.  However it is referenced in the Talmud Babli as being good for the eyes, the heart and the bowel!

In our current crazy situation we need to take pleasure from very small things and if you can find a fresh shoot of asparagus within ten minutes walk of your house, pick it, savour it and daydream about this time next year when you can go out and forage for as much as you want.

Asparagus Cream Pasta
1 bunch of wild asparagus
200 ml fresh cream
2 garlic cloves
50 gm parmesan half grated half shaved
250 gm tagliatelle

1. To prepare the asparagus  neatly cut the tips away from the stalks, keeping them separate.
2. In a small pan bring the cream and garlic to the boil.  Take off the heat, remove the garlic, then set the pan aside.
3. Saute the stalks in some olive oil until tender then tip into the cream with the grated parmesan.  Blitz with a hand blender until smooth. Saute the tips and set aside
4. Cook the pasta, drain, gently reheat the cream then tip the pasta into a bowl pouring the cream on top, garnish with the sauteed tips and shaved parmesan

Recipe courtesy of Michele Levy, friend, fantastic cook and fellow blogger. Check out her blog: lovelondonlovefood

Photos courtesy of Yasmin Maissel, a lovely daughter, a lousy cook and a great photographer

Editing courtesy of Elizabeth Kay From HaChamama Shel Elizabeth, friend, neighbour and my adviser on everything!