Sesame-Crusted Asparagus Spears

Loch Ness Monster or Sesame-Crusted Wild Asparagus?

I'm sad to report that asparagus season is almost over here - almost.  You can be certain that I won't stop looking until the last spear has overgrown into a soft fern-like tree shape.  I was nearly ready to give up last week.  Then we got some rain.  My asparagus bone is itching, and I just know that I won't be able to resist the urge to look a few more times.  After all, the flavor of wild asparagus is so concentrated and pristine that it is worth to time to search out even a small handful of spears.

Asparagus is one of the few items I forage which can be found in a conventional supermarket.  That means that I have the opportunity to eat it at other times of year.  But I don't.  I won't.  I just can't.  The taste of feral asparagus is just too special.  So when I shows up at someone's Thanksgiving or New Year's feast, I'll probably "forget" to put some on my plate.  I prefer to let my mind twist and turn around the memory of grassy green spears thrusting through the ground to the silent music of spring, and properly anticipate next year's hunt.

Sesame-Crusted Asparagus Spears

1-2 egg whites
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
pinch of white pepper
1 pound asparagus
1/3 c. sesame seeds

1.  Place the egg whites into a wide shallow bowl, and beat them with a fork until broken, but not foamy.  Stir in the soy sauce and pepper.

2.  Pour the sesame seeds into another wide shallow bowl.

3.  Dip each asparagus spear into the eggwhites, then into the bowl of sesame seeds.  Completely cover the spears in sesame seeds.

4.  Roast the sesame-crusted asparagus spears on a greased baking sheet in a 425 degree (F) oven, until the fattest spear can be pierced with a knife and the sesame seeds have browned, 8-10 minutes.

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You still have time to share your favorite recipe using wild asparagus.  Send it into wildthings.roundup@gmail.com before the end of May!  Thank you.