Spargel (White Asparagus) with Meatballs in Lemon Sauce

“I can’t believe I haven’t written about Spargel yet,” I think yet again. White asparagus is extremely seasonal–legally, harvest must end on or before June 23–and has a sort of cult status in Germany. The various sandy-soiled regions fight for market territory like I imagine the assorted small nobility used to fight in the Middle Ages. Freising belongs mostly to Schrobenhausen, with occasional incursions from Abensberg, and they are both lovely, but the supermarkets get theirs from all over. Mr Radish accidentally bought some trucked in from Greece a few years ago, and it was awful, woody and dried-out. Buy it at a market or a roadside stand–you’ll pay more when you buy it from a family who harvested it that morning themselves, but it’s really worth the extra money.

We visited the European Spargelmuseum in Schrobenhausen in 2018 and recommend it.

The traditional way to consume Spargel is boiled, with boiled potatoes, cold ham, a slice of lemon, and Hollandaise sauce, but it’s also popularly served with cheese or in a cream soup. This year, I got a deal on some supermarket Spargel, acceptably “grown in Bavaria”, and wanted to try something new.

Meatballs, obviously, with boiled potatoes and lemon.

This is a recipe from north Germany, “near the Danish border”, but all the ingredients except the lemon can be grown in Bavaria as well, and it is incredible. Definitely making this one every year!

The order of operation is important here: Peel your Spargel and start the broth before you make the balls, because it simmers for half an hour before the meat is added. Save the peelings! They can’t be eaten, but they go into the broth for extra flavor.

Vegetable broth, with onion, bay leaf, and peels. The peels will be removed before the meatballs are added.

While this is happening, make your meatballs.

Something different: The crumbs/milk/egg mixture is created first, and then the meat is added to it, instead of the other way around. She didn’t explain her reasoning, but it does make for a moist and fluffy meat mix.

I made the balls about the size of ping-pong balls, because I want to make sure they cook through.

Now you’re ready to remove the peels (you can leave in the onion and bay leaf) and boil the meatballs and Spargel in the broth, about 12 minutes for the meat and 10 for the veg. Add some sugar; Spargel needs sugar in the cooking water for scientific reasons I can’t quite explain but am willing to accept.

When they’re done enough (YMMV), remove everything from the pan to start creating the lemon sauce.

This is the most delicious lemon sauce I have ever made. It’s thickened with a roux, but the highlight is an entire lemon’s worth of zest. It was so lemony, and without being bitter. (No pictures of this step; I was really in the moment here.) Return the meat and veg to the pan to warm back up for a few minutes.

Serve these meatballs over boiled potatoes. If you have any leftovers, they will be even tastier on the next day.