Cooking: The literary art of asparagus

WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Ex-pat American novelist Henry James, on a visit to Rye in East Sussex, England, fell in love with the Georgian house built in 1723 by its mayor, James Lamb. It's a handsome edifice, oozing history. Rough seas on a crossing from Hanover forced George I to spend his first three nights in England under this roof. It can't have been relaxing. The new monarch didn't speak a word of English and Mrs. Lamb had to give up her bedroom in his favor, so lay screeching elsewhere in the house, giving birth to her son.

Henry James took a 2-year lease, then in 1899 at age 55, bought the property and spent the remaining 18 years of his life in the house, writing novels including "The Wings of a Dove," "The Golden Bowl," "The Awkward Age" and "The Ambassadors," often in the garden pavilion.

In 1950, the James family presented Lamb House to Britain's National Trust. And the home that had entertained the likes of H.G. Wells, Ford Maddox Ford, Rudyard Kipling, Max Beerbohm and Edith Wharton was then rented over the decades to other literary caretakers. My father, taking over the reins from writer Rumer Godden, saw fit to lay the seeds for an asparagus bed in the vegetable garden, his legacy for those who followed.

This was truly a labor of love since in those days it took seven years before asparagus grew enough to eat. (Now you can buy crowns that will produce in three.) But as anyone who has waited long enough to develop a bed knows, straight-from-the-garden asparagus is the only way to eat the stuff. Asparagus should be consumed the day it is picked for maximum flavor.

Now that it is coming into farmers markets, it is almost possible to replicate the experience of my mother standing at the ready with boiling pot of water and my father stooped over the bed with a sharpened knife, slicing the stalks from the soil.

If you have ever been fortunate to have eaten it this way, you will agree there is little value in the asparagus you get in supermarkets, except when turned into soup or tarts. Asparagus from farmers markets needs only some hollandaise or a little melted butter and -- a Jane Grisgson recommendation -- a few fried breadcrumbs for contrast. It is so delicate in flavor you will appreciate the old name "sparrowgrass" from which it is corrupted.

But few of us will have the luxury of absolutely fresh asparagus and will just have to be thankful for the fact that at least now it is in season somewhere less than 7,000 miles away. If, as in our family, you cannot help but buy it whenever you see it, you will need a few different ways to serve it.

Cold is as good as hot -- particularly in warm weather. Although a simple vinaigrette is wonderful, there is a much richer sauce that works well when the asparagus stalks are particularly fat.

Whisk 3 large egg yolks into 1/4 pint table cream with 3 tablespoons of melted butter in a pudding basin over a pan of simmering water. Keep beating until it is thick, taking care to scrape the sides so it doesn't curdle. This is not the challenge it sounds.

Then take the basin off and set it aside while you whip 1/2 pint whipping cream till thick. When the cooked cream is cool, fold in the whipped cream followed by 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and plenty of freshly ground black pepper with salt to taste.

Simpler by far is to whip 1/2 pint of whipping cream until it goes into peaks then fold in salt and pepper to taste and a tablespoon of a good horseradish sauce. Serve asparagus with a lightly boiled egg and dip the stalk into the yolk, having first melted into it a teaspoonful of butter with a grinding of pepper and salt. Make sure you have a plate of buttered brown bread to go with it.

If you are uncertain about your asparagus, bake a pastry case you've pricked all over with a fork blind until set, scatter over 2-inch lengths of asparagus you've boiled till "al dente," followed by 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan. Then pour over 3/4 cup of whipping cream into which you've beaten 3 large eggs, salt and pepper.

Bake at 375F for 30 minutes till just set and serve warm with a green salad.