With the arrival of spring last week comes the annual culinary treat of fresh asparagus from the California Delta.

Not only good for us but also quite tasty, asparagus has been used from very early times as a culinary vegetable, owing to its delicate flavor and diuretic properties. One of the earliest written recipes for asparagus comes from the oldest surviving book of cookery, written in Roman times — actually the third century — by Apicius.

While Americans are fond of asparagus, it’s the Germans who are downright passionate about it. In particular, Germans have a passion for white asparagus, and German asparagus is considered to be among the best in the world. Just so you know, white asparagus is cultivated by denying the plants light while they are being grown.

In their simplest form, the shoots are boiled or steamed until tender and served with a light sauce like hollandaise or melted butter, or a drizzle of olive oil and a dusting of Parmesan cheese.

A refinement is to tie the shoots into sheaves and stand them so that the lower part of the stalks are boiled while the more tender heads are steamed. Tall cylindrical asparagus cooking pots have liners with handles and perforated bases to make this process foolproof.

Unlike most vegetables where the smaller and thinner are the more tender, thick asparagus stalks have more tender volume to the proportion of skin. The best asparagus are picked and washed while the water comes to the boil. Fastidious cooks scrape asparagus stalks with a vegetable peeler, stroking away from the head, and refresh them in ice-cold water before steaming them; the peel is often added back to the cooking water and removed only after the asparagus is done, as this is supposed to prevent any dilution of flavor.

The Delta crop

The earliest recorded growing of asparagus in California was in the northern delta in 1852. The market was strictly local until August 1900. On that date, the first trainload of asparagus was sent east. Shipped from the Hickmott Cannery on Bouldin Island, the 20 carloads began a marketing revolution. With the easy and regular availability of canned asparagus, Americans across the country fell under the spell of nature’s most perfect vegetable.

In 1903, nearly 6,000 acres were planted to asparagus in the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta region. As California and the nation entered the 21st century, asparagus was being farmed on more than 37,000 acres in the Golden State. The crop value today exceeds $150 million.

According to Stockton Asparagus Festival officials, the methods by which asparagus is planted, grown and harvested is much the same today as it was a century ago. Horses wearing specially designed peat shoes have been replaced by the track-laying caterpillar tractors of today.

Nutritionally, asparagus is one of the more balanced vegetables, and a leading provider of folic acid. Folic acid is necessary for blood cell formation, growth and prevention of liver disease. Asparagus is also very low in calories; each stalk contains less than 4 calories. It contains no fat or cholesterol, and is very low in sodium. Asparagus is a great source of potassium and fiber. Asparagus also provides rutin, which strengthens capillary walls.

Jackson likes it

“We’re getting the season’s first asparagus from the Delta,” Brix executive chef Ryan Jackson enthusiastically declared from his spic-and-span, remodeled and gleaming kitchen the other day. “I’ve been eating it raw for a couple of days now.”

In addition to asparagus, Jackson is jazzed about all the spring vegetables and herbs ready for harvesting from the restaurant’s bountiful garden, the handiwork of garden manager Sherell Frank.

“Sherell’s done a great job, so that the kitchen can pretty much come out here to the garden and harvest what we need year ’round,” Jackson said as he snipped young lettuces and chard for the evening meal.

Jackson is featuring fresh asparagus and garden-fresh greens on his spring menu, and agreed to share some of his recipes with Register readers. His chilled asparagus soup is topped with creme fraiche and osetra caviar. “The minerality and saltiness of the caviar goes well with asparagus,” he points out. “You can get California osetra caviar at Osprey Seafood in Napa.”

His plate of chilled grilled asparagus is dressed with creamy salsa verde and topped with toasted bread crumbs and white Spanish anchovies.

“Grilled asparagus is so tasty,” the chef adds. “You don’t have to spend a lot of time at the grill because you just want to give it a bit of the grill flavor. I cook the spears in boiling salted water for about 10 seconds first, and then grill them for at most three minutes.”

A dish that is ideal for either lunch or dinner entree is Jackson’s seared ahi tuna salad, accompanied by asparagus and other spring vegetables (baby artichokes, spring onions and fingerling potatoes), fresh greens and shallot dressing.

Jackson offers a few tips for preparing asparagus. To ensure you don’t serve the tough ends, break them off at the point where the stalk gives, he said. Then save those tough ends for your asparagus soup as there’s a lot of flavor in those discarded sections.

Is it necessary to peel asparagus spears? “The larger ones tend to have tougher skin, so you should peel them,” Jackson maintains. “With the medium spears, it’s simply a matter of esthetics. For the pencil thin ones, it’s just not necessary.”

Jackson likes to steam asparagus but he’s also fond of dropping the spears in salted water. “That way you can impart salt throughout the asparagus while it’s being quickly cooked. Just don’t overcook it. And for grilled asparagus,  just 10 seconds in boiling water and then roll the spears on the grill for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on size. I like to season with sea salt.”

For his ahi tuna dish, Jackson sears the fish only on one side. “That way I can enjoy the creaminess of the raw texture of ahi and also that of fish that’s been cooked. You get two different textures in one piece of fish.”

Jackson has lots of talent in the kitchen preparing both lunch and dinner daily. His executive sous chef is David Starr, sous chef is Ben Knox and pastry chef is Tyler Bernards. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a bar menu offered from 3 to 5 p.m. Dinner is served from 5 to 9 p.m. daily. A brunch menu is offered on Sundays. For reservations, call 944-2749.