Seafood Made Simple: Why this vegetable should be the focal point of your dish

They are wonderful too as the star of a risotto, in pasta dishes and soups

The mayonnaise in this recipe is also great with a roast chicken, spuds and any roasted green vegetable. Picture Chani Anderson

Asparagus is one of those vegetables that I believe should always be the focal point of a plate of food – a tender spear, both nutty and sweet in flavour with a welcome undertone of bitterness. They’re the most elegant perennial vegetable; the short season where Irish-grown asparagus is available is now.

I picked up a couple of Gort na Nain asparagus bunches at My Goodness stall in The English Market. These spears are grown just outside the maritime town of Kinsale, Co Cork.