Seasonal pantry: Celebrate spring with berries and asparagus

Signs of spring are everywhere: in the morning songs of mockingbirds, in blossoms and little green shoots popping up, and in the long line of cars pulling into and out of Lao's Strawberry Stand (555 Highway 12, between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, just west of Duer Road).

One of the great pleasures of the season is driving home with a flat of Lao's strawberries on the seat beside you, filling your car with their intoxicating aroma. These strawberries are so delicious on their own that you don't need to do much to them. That said, they make extraordinary salsa, chutney, jam, galettes and more.

Lao's strawberries are picked when they are ripe, unlike a lot of commercial strawberries, which are picked early for prolonged shelf life. Many customers love them so much that they visit the stand daily.

Asparagus is abundant, too - big fat stalks of it, on sale at several local markets.

When it comes to asparagus, there is a fair amount of confusion, both about what kind is the most flavorful and how best to cook it. First, those thin spindly stalks are not baby asparagus, as they are frequently called.

They are actually older, from plants that have been producing for several years. They have less flavor and tend to be tougher than the younger fat stalks.

Secondly, the most common methods of preparing asparagus, boiling and steaming, do not give the best results. Both techniques dilute the flavor and make the thin outer layer stringy, which is why many cooks and chefs peel it. But if you roast asparagus dry or grill it, the flavors are intensified and peeling is not only unnecessary, it is not a good idea. Once you roast asparagus, you may never use any other technique except grilling, which best done when you are cooking other things on the grill, too.

With both asparagus and strawberries abundant, it won't be long before we have Bing cherries, followed soon thereafter by Queen Anne cherries, and then a brief frenzy of apricots.

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This sweet and tangy salsa is delicious spooned over yogurt or served alongside a selection of cheeses, with roasted chicken and in chicken tacos.

Strawberry Salsa

Makes about 2 cups

1 pint strawberries, stemmed and cut into medium dice

2 tablespoons sugar

1-2 Serrano peppers, minced

1/2 small red onion, minced

3 tablespoons best-quality red wine vinegar or red raspberry vinegar

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

Put the strawberries and the sugar into a medium bowl and toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

Remove the bowl from the refrigerator, add the Serrano peppers, onion, vinegar and cilantro and toss lightly. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let the salsa rest at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to two days.

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When you roast strawberries in their own juices, their flavors are intensified; be sure, though, not to overcook them as you don't want them to be mushy.

Roasted Strawberries with Black Pepper, Creme Fraiche, & Coffee Granita

Serves 4 to 6

2 pint baskets strawberries, stems removed

3 tablespoons sugar

- Pinch of kosher salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup, approximately, creme fraiche

- Coffee Granita (recipe follows)

Rinse the strawberries in cool water, place in a strainer or colander and shake off most of the water. Slice the strawberries about 1/8-inch thick, place them in a large bowl, and sprinkle them with the sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Add the salt and the black pepper, stir once gently and transfer to an ovenproof baking dish. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the juices are bubbling and the strawberries are hot but not mushy.

Remove from the oven, divide among individual serving dishes and top each portion with a dollop of creme fraiche, if using.

Divide the granita among small glass bowls or aperitif glasses. Serve right away.

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Coffee Granita

Serves 8 to 10

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) freshly and finely ground coffee of choice

5 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brew the coffee by your preferred method, using 4 cups of water. Let the coffee cool slightly and stir in the sugar and the vanilla extract. Chill the coffee in the refrigerator until it is quite cold.

Pour the cold coffee into a metal baking dish of some sort and set it in the freezer for 1 hour.

Remove the coffee from the freezer and use a fork to rake it into small fluffy crystals. Freeze and rake two or three more times, until the coffee is a mound of flaky frozen crystals.

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This is one of Seasonal Pantry's most requested recipes in the 20 years this column has been appearing in The Press Democrat. As soon as the season begins, my email inbox begins to fill with requests for it. Use it to simply enjoy asparagus neat or prepare it this way to use in other dishes, including soups, risottos, and pasta dishes. To use the asparagus in risotto or pasta dishes, let it cool slightly and cut it into diagonal 2-inch lengths.

Roasted Asparagus

Serves 3 to 4

16-20 fat asparagus stalks

- Olive oil

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Hold the asparagus, one stalk at a time, in your non-dominant hand and use your other hand to snap off the tough ends; they should break naturally at the right point.

Set the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with just a little olive oil and toss to coat each stalk. Season lightly with salt.

Set in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes for fat stalks; thin stalks will take 5 or 6 minutes and the fattest may take as long as 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, transfer to a plate and season well with black pepper.

Variations:

Top the asparagus with sieved (hard-cooked, cooled, and grated) egg before adding the black pepper. Season with salt before serving.

Top the asparagus with a good grated cheese just before serving.

Divide the asparagus among individual plates, top each portion with a poached egg, and drizzle with warm shallot vinaigrette or warm bacon vinaigrette.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including “The Good Cook's Book of Salt and Pepper.” Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com