Panfried Asparagus with Ramps

 This was a dish that pleasantly surprised us, given its simplicity. It was a nice way to salute the late arrival of nice weather and one of my favorite vegetables, asparagus. Sadly, there's nothing like ramps here in France (I'm not sure I've ever eaten a ramp, frankly), so I went with green/spring onions and then supplemented with a typical spring herb, sorrel. I thought that was in keeping with the "sharp, biting" greens that Melissa writes about in the headnotes. Sorrel has a lemony taste that matches well with the other flavors in this dish.

The recipe is a snap to make. You slice and sauté the whites of the onions and some lemon slices (if possible, use an organic, thin-skinned lemon) in a good amount of butter. Then you add the asparagus and the sliced green onion tops (and sorrel), cover, and cook a while longer.

Finally, you add some eggs and let them fry: I put them in a 350 oven for 5 minutes. And that's it: a simple brunch-ish dish--for us, a light Sunday lunch.

As it turns out, I'm really the only one in the family who enjoys asparagus, and yet this dish disappeared quickly and effortlessly. The asparagus was perfectly cooked and, as Julia pointed out, "really well spiced". I didn't love the lemon bits: my lemons had thick skin that was pretty bitter. But other than that, I was really happy with this dish and once again, glad I made it.