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.

The magic of heat doesn't end there. Roasting cherry tomatoes concentrates the flavour and brings out the sweetness. And it doesn't actually take very long.

You could use larger tomatoes if you can't get cherry tomatoes, but then I would probably roast them for much longer, at a lower heat, so you get some of the intensity and sweetness that decent cherry tomatoes have.

There's just a couple of days left of this year's English asparagus season. If you can get hold of some, I'd really encourage you to make this dish while you can. If you happen to have the barbecue going, feel free to barbecue the asparagus instead of griddling it.

Ingredients

Serves 2 as a main meal

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, the smaller and sweeter the better
1 bunch asparagus, any tough ends trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
50g (2oz) black olives
75g (3oz) goats cheese - ideally a semi-soft rinded one - sliced or crumbled
200g brown bulghur wheat or couscous

Method

Heat the oven to gas mark 7/220c /425F. Halve the cherry tomatoes, season and roast for 15-20 minutes or until softened and just about to collapse.

While this is happening, heat a griddle pan over a fairly high heat and place the asparagus on it. (You can also do this on the barbecue.) Have the asparagus at right angles to the bars on the griddle ban. Griddle for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until the asparagus is cooked to your liking. Try not to turn it too often, so you get nice neat black stripes along the asparagus.

Meanwhile, cook the bulghur wheat or couscous according to the packet instructions.

Arrange a bed of couscous on a plate, top with the roasted tomatoes, and then with the goats' cheese, asparagus and olives.