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While on the subject of asparagus, this is another dish that's best with French asparagus, but I also make it with the Spanish stuff, or even, at a pinch, with asparagus flown in from Latin America at other times of year. In Rome one sunny day, probably about twenty years ago, I had lunch alone in a restaurant just off the via Condotti. I chose farfalle with asparagus. They mixed the asparagus with spring onion, cream and chervil. It seemed a bit bland to me (and stingy with the asparagus, as usual in restaurants) and I thought, as sometimes happens, I could probably do something similar but better myself. Here's what I've done ever since. I use one bunch of green asparagus to make generous, main-course portions for two people . You could make more reasonably-sized portions for three, and no doubt a decent starter for four. Cut off the bottom half of the stalks and blanch the top half for a few minutes in boiling water, with the fragile tips over the side of the pan, rathe...

'In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.' It's a long time since I was a young man, so my thoughts turn to other things... French asparagus is now in the shops. For me, that means asparagus every week over the next couple of months (and strawberries for pudding), to make the most of it. Many years ago, in Cambridge, a friend served it to me baked and dredged with parmesan, and that's how I've cooked it most often ever since. It could hardly be called a 'recipe' as there's nothing to it. I use a bunch of green asparagus per person , for generous portions as a starter. You could probably use two bunches for three people, or even for four if you serve some Parma or San Daniele ham with it, or if your plan is to use the asparagus as the side dish to a main course. I cut off the bottom half of the stalks; maybe a bit less if they aren't tough. The discarded stalks can (and often do) go into a cold asparagus soup. I lay th...