The 7 best healthy asparagus recipes

I love asparagus. Now that the English asparagus season has started I'll be eating it as often as possible until the end of the season in late June.

Trouble is, a lot of the classic ways to eat asparagus involve lashings of butter or hollandaise sauce (still basically butter, made even more delicious). Or cheese. Or cheese and pastry (eg asparagus quiche or tartlets). All of which doesn't bear repeating too often. So I've devised a set of healthy dishes that mean I can eat asparagus frequently for eight weeks without too many pangs of guilt.

Asparagus, ricotta and toast

Sometimes you just can't beat toast. Quick, easy, and with the right toppings (whether it's just good butter or something fancier) downright delicious. Oh, and it's a great way to give a new lease of life to bread that's gone slightly stale.

New season English asparagus doesn't need too much to make it a delicious meal. Here I've griddled it to seal in all the flavour, then perched it on top of creamy, garlicky ricotta and of course, some toast. I flavoured the ricotta with some wild garlic that I picked in Sussex at the weekend, but spinach or fresh basil will make a fine substitute.

Tagliatelle with asparagus and mushrooms

Spaghetti carbonara is a classic dish, but what if you want a dish that is vegetarian and fairly healthy? Clearly the answer is not carbonara. This dish though, is maybe the next best thing. The mushrooms give it loads of flavour, then you have the luxury of the new season asparagus.

Asparagus and pea risotto

Here's the most luxurious, delicious early summer risotto you can imagine. I'm posting this now in the hope that you might still be able to find some British asparagus. If not, you could use imported, or save it till next year. Or it will still be delicious with peas and no asparagus, just not quite as luxurious.

Quick and delicious: asparagus, cheese and tomatoes on toast

I realised that we're more than half way through English asparagus season, and I hadn't posted any asparagus recipes. Here is a really simple but delicious one to get you started.

This is one of those occasions when using a quality loaf of bread really does make all the difference.

The last asparagus dish: with eggs and healthier "hollandaise"

So sadly, it's the end of the English asparagus season. The traditional last day of picking is the longest day of the year, which was yesterday. So you might still find it in shops and markets for the next day or two.

I made this kind of celebratory brunch as a farewell to English asparagus, and just because it tastes good. It's a bit more effort than I usually go to in the morning, but I decided it was worth it. Plus, I had some of the "hollandaise" left over for another meal.

There's no reason why you need to restrict this to a morning dish. You could swap the toast or muffins for a bed of couscous, or maybe some crushed new potatoes, and you'd have an elegant lunch or dinner.

Heat and fire: Griddled asparagus with roasted cherry tomatoes

One of the things that still fascinates me about food is the way that applying some heat can change the flavour so much. And different types of heat change the flavour in different ways.

I never get bored of steamed asparagus - and there's a lot to be said for this simple treatment that allows the vegetable to speak simply of itself. But griddled asparagus expresses itself just as eloquently, but with charred notes that bring an extra hit of umami, that sixth, intensely savoury taste. And because the asparagus hasn't been cooked in water, it keeps every bit of flavour. And then it's robust enough to marry with strong tastes like tomato, olives and goats' cheese.

A vegetarian barbecue

It looks like it's going to be a lovely weekend, and I thought some of you might be looking for a vegetarian dish for the barbecue.

Here's something to celebrate the sunshine and the fact that it's still the English asparagus season. And it's delicious enough to please carnivores and vegetarians alike.

If you don't have the weather or the opportunity to get the barbecue going, well, it works just as well if you cook the vegetables on a ridged griddle pan. Failing that, cooking them under the grill or in the oven will do.
 

Spring greens

Here's a super-healthy vegetable dish that only takes about ten minutes to make. It can be a vibrant, spring-like side dish; a topping for bruschetta; a mixture to stir into a risotto; or even a meal in its own right, topped with a poached egg and perhaps with some fresh bread on the side.

Frozen vegetables are the key to making this super-speedy, but feel free to use fresh broad beans and/or beans if you prefer.

Springtime on a plate: asparagus and peas with eggs and bulgur wheat

I can hardly believe it's the beginning of June and I haven't posted any asparagus recipes yet. I always try to make the most of the English asparagus season, which basically involves cooking it as often as possible for the seven or eight weeks that it's around. A lot of my favourite asparagus recipes are pasta-based, but sometimes it's nice to have something a bit different (and possibly providing more of my 5 - or 7? - a day).

This is a really interesting dish that works just as well hot for dinner or cold as a packed lunch the next day. I love the mix of different textures (the peas, the asparagus, the soft bulghur wheat and the crunch of the walnuts) and with the wholegrains, vegetables, egg and nuts, it feels nutritionally balanced too.

I know asparagus isn't the cheapest ingredient, but it's only around briefly - and you can pick up small bunches in a certain German supermarket for about £1.09. I've found good multi-buy offers at farmers' markets in the past, too.

Probably the last asparagus dish: with goats' cheese on sun-dried tomato bread

Does the humble sandwich have to be humble? As a nation our favourites are chicken, cheese, ham or egg (depending on who you believe) nothing too posh, though exotic sandwiches are gaining in popularity. I'm a fan of the cheese sandwich myself, though the quality of the cheese is vital (extra mature cheddar or a lovely ripe Brie by preference).

The sandwich is such an everyday item that I feel almost guilty about turning it into anything too luxurious. But on this occasion I had a few spears of asparagus left. And with the end of the asparagus season sadly upon us, it seemed right to celebrate this prince of English vegetables.

Asparagus with halloumi and sweet potatoes

How can it be that the British asparagus season is nearly over? The miserable weather meant that it was so late in getting started this year, I've not made half my favourite dishes.

The official end of picking is the longest day on June 21. I'm hoping that the late start to the season will mean that farmers pick for a bit longer, but that might just be wishful thinking.

While steaming is my all-round favourite way to cook asparagus, I also love it griddled - the flavour seems more concentrated, and the seared stripes add smokiness to the flavour, as if it's been cooked on a barbecue.