Asparagus was treated as a rarity in the "Spring rites" edition of Taste on March 31, 1982, which profiled chef Michael Russell of Meriwether's in Brooklyn Center and the restaurant's Fresh Asparagus Festival (find Russell's recipes at www.startribune.com/tabletalk).
"We purposely selected asparagus rather than some other food with a springtime connotation," Russell told Taste staff writer Heather Randall. "It's nutritious, appealing and fairly unique as restaurant fare goes. We think of it as a luxury item."
Fortunately, during the intervening 28 years, this warm-weather bellwether has evolved into a staple. Russell offered helpful tips to home cooks working with the then-exotic ingredient, including cleaning stalks by sweeping them gently with a soft brush and cool water, carefully snapping the stalk where it begins to turn white to remove the woody portion and wrapping stalks in wet paper towels, placing them in a plastic bag and storing in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Another difference between then and now? The restaurant's asparagus was flown in from California, rather than sourced locally.
RICK NELSON
