Spring arrived a bit early this year and all sorts of things have popped up ahead of their natural timing: British asparagus has been on sale in Waitrose for four weeks already.

I remember going to Christchurch for a festival. A local grower had his asparagus out in front of a deli, so I popped in to see what local goodies they had – but they were selling Peruvian stems. I asked why. The response? ‘It’s cheaper and people won’t buy the local stuff.’ Of course you can buy asparagus all year from various countries… but wouldn’t you rather wait and support our farmers?

Shaved asparagus salad

Raw, thinly shaved asparagus isn’t commonly prepared in restaurants or at home, but do give it a try. Cooked and raw make a great simple flavour combination. I’ve used a selection of my home-grown leaves here, which have been growing throughout the winter, and some wild pennywort, which is also on my doorstep – I’ve not bought salad leaves for years.