I hadn’t actually heard about this until I moved here, even when I was a child and visited Germany I didn’t know about Spargelzeit (Asparagus season) – perhaps because I never visited during the season.

When is Asparagus Season?
Spargelzeit starts every year at a different time, depending on how warm the weather is and also which region you are in. It usually starts between March and April, and traditionally ends on Johannistag on the 24th of July. The end of the asparagus season is also called Spargelsilvester (asparagus new year).
White or Green Asparagus?
There are two types of asparagus – green and white. In England green asparagus is very common but the white asparagus isn’t. Here both are available and the white asparagus is more commonly eaten. The difference between the two is that the green asparagus plant grows above the soil, and the white asparagus is grown underneath the soil (hence why it is white as it doesn’t get any sunlight).

White asparagus is grown underground. Photo by LID on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0))

What to eat it with?
The most usual dish served for Spargelzeit is Spargel mit Kartoffeln, Hollandaise Soße und Schinken (white asparagus with potatoes, sauce hollandaise and ham). A very simple meal but very popular! There are of course other dishes such as Spargelrisotto (asparagus risotto), Spargelsalat (asparagus salad) and Spargelsuppe (asparagus soup).

Spargelzeit! Photo by Nina on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Spargel Rezept
Zutaten:
250g Kartoffeln
500g Spargel
Zucker
Salz
Zitronensaft
Schinken (in Scheiben)
Sauce Hollandaise

Methode:
Die Kartoffeln schälen, waschen und in kochendem Salzwasser ca. 30 Minuten garen.
Den Spargel schälen und die Enden abschneiden.
Salzwasser kochen lassen und eine Prise Zucker und Zitronensaft dazugeben.
Den Spargel in das Wasser reinlegen und ziehen lassen für 20 Minuten.
Die Kartoffeln und Spargel abgießen und auf einen Teller legen mit dem Schinken, den Sauce Hollandaise drüber gießen und genießen!

You can buy the Sauce Hollandaise already made or if you want to make it from scratch you can use this recipe here.
Let me know if you tried out the recipe or if you have eaten asparagus like this before!
Thanks for reading,
Larissa