English Asparagus with a Poached Egg and Mustard Dressing

The asparagus season lasts about six weeks if you're lucky. Late April to the end of June, though the best of it comes in May, when the spears are fat and tight-tipped and taste of the ground they came out of that morning. I wait for it every year. I don't buy imported asparagus in February. There's no point. It won't taste like itself yet.

This is the simplest thing I know to do with a good bundle. Blanch the spears so they're warm and bright, set a poached egg on top, and dress the lot with something sharp and mustardy that cuts through the richness of the yolk. When you break the egg and the gold runs over the green and into the dressing, it looks like a painting you'd want to eat. No technique required. No cleverness. Just good asparagus, a fresh egg, and ten minutes of your attention.

I made this last May for someone who'd had a long day. Two plates, a bottle of white wine already cold, the kitchen window open because the evening was finally warm enough. I wrote it down afterwards: asparagus, egg, mustard, Tuesday. That was enough to remember it by. The market decides what we eat, and in May, the market says asparagus. You don't argue with the market.

There are few better feelings than putting a warm plate in front of someone when the food on it is this straightforward. We're only making dinner. But sometimes dinner is the best part of the day.