Spargel (White Asparagus)
Photo: Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

White asparagus has been grown in Brandenburg's sandy Beelitz soil since the 17th century, when monks at Brandenburg's cloisters cultivated the spears as a Lenten food. Friedrich the Great in the 18th century made Spargel a court delicacy. Beelitz, 40km south of Berlin, became the asparagus capital of Germany in the late 19th century when railway lines connected its farms to Berlin's markets. Today, Beelitz produces 7,000 tonnes of Spargel per season. The Berlin Spargel ritual runs from late April to St John's Day on 24 June (Spargelsilvester), after which all harvesting stops by tradition. Restaurants from Lutter und Wegner to Lokal run a Spargelkarte for these eight weeks only.

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Common allergens: Dairy, Egg in hollandaise

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1kg fresh white asparagus, woody ends snapped off and stalks peeled from the tip down with a vegetable peeler
  • 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 strip lemon peel, 30g butter for the cooking water
  • For the hollandaise: 4 large egg yolks, 250g unsalted butter melted and warm, juice of half a lemon, salt and white pepper, pinch of cayenne
  • 800g waxy new potatoes, boiled
  • 4 thick slices Schwarzwaelder or other smoked ham

Method

  1. Peel the asparagus thoroughly from just below the tip to the base; the skin is fibrous and inedible. Reserve the peelings for stock.
  2. Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer with the salt, sugar, lemon peel and butter.
  3. Lay the peeled spears flat in the water, simmer 12 to 15 minutes until just yielding to a knife tip.
  4. For the hollandaise, whisk the yolks with a tablespoon of cold water over a bain-marie until thick and pale (3 minutes).
  5. Take off the heat, whisk in the warm melted butter in a slow stream until the sauce thickens. Adjust with lemon, salt, pepper and cayenne.
  6. Lift the asparagus carefully from the water, serve on a warm plate over boiled potatoes with a slice of ham and a generous spoon of hollandaise.

Tip from the editors. Peel the asparagus from just below the tip and remove any tough patches; under-peeled white asparagus stays unpleasantly fibrous.

Where to eat spargel (white asparagus)

Spargel (White Asparagus) in Berlin

Lutter und Wegner ★ 4.1

€€€ Berlin BrasserieMitte

Lutter und Wegner on Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt has cooked traditional Wiener Schnitzel since 1811; the wood-panelled room runs Sunday classics and the long.

OrderThe Wiener Schnitzel with cucumber-potato salad; the Berlin sauerbraten in winter.

TipSunday lunch from 12:00 is the easier seating than weekday dinner. Book two weeks ahead by phone.

Directions

Borchardt ★ 4.5

€€€ Berlin BrasserieMitte

Borchardt on Berlin's Franzoesische Strasse has cooked the city's reference Wiener Schnitzel since 1992; the 1850s dining room runs 200 covers.

OrderThe Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad; the calf's liver Berlin-style is the long-running second pick.

TipLunch from 12:00 is easier than dinner. Book four weeks ahead by phone.

Directions

Lokal ★ 4.2

€€€ Modern German, SeasonalMitte

Lokal on Berlin's Linienstrasse in Mitte cooks a short daily menu of seasonal Brandenburg produce; the Spargel and Rote Gruetze are the calendar anchors.

OrderThe Beelitzer Spargel with hollandaise in Spargel season (late April to June).

TipShort seasonal menu changes frequently. Spargel season runs late April to 24 June only; book a week ahead for that window.

Directions

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