English Asparagus au Naturel (almost)

English asparagus only has a very short season, so my preference is to make the most of its wonderful flavour by giving it the simple treatment, as heard in my debut podcast on Borough Market.

For a starter, I'd go for about 10 to 12 spears each.

First, trim off any woody end bits. If your asparagus is really fresh there shouldn't be any. Simply chuck them into a large pan of rapidly boiling salted water for three to five minutes or until they feel tender to the point of a knife, drain, pat dry with kitchen paper and divide amongst white plates.

In the meantime gently melt some good unsalted butter and add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Splash generously over the asparagus, serve immediately and eat with your fingers - this is essential!

If you want to gild the lily, some very finely chopped tinned anchovies in the lemon butter work very well.