Purists will be appalled by the idea of recipes for asparagus. Maybe it's the short season, or its high price, or simply its particular deliciousness, but asparagus inspires an almost cult-like reverence.

Even the fields where it is grown have an other-worldly quality. The green stems stand, regimentally straight, in the soil. No leaves, no sign of the plant beneath at all.

It looks as if the farmer has popped down to Tesco for a job lot of asparagus and stuck them, spear by spear, in the bare earth.

This year the season is briefer than usual. The traditional St George's Day start was put back by cold weather, but harvesting will stop, as ever, around June 21, when the rest of the spears are allowed to grow into 6ft-tall fronding ferns, photosynthesising and reinvigorating the roots, or "crowns", for next year's crop.

So tuck in while you can. The first few asparagus meals need no more than lots of melted unsalted butter and a scattering of sea salt crystals.
Eat them with your fingers, nibbling the tender tips, then sucking the buttery juices from the tough ends.

Then, as the price of the tight bunches drops, experiment. Toss the spears in a salad, grill them next to chicken or dip them in buttercup yellow hollandaise.

Before you know it, they'll be over for another year.

ASPARAGUS AND JAMON SERRANO WITH SHAVINGS OF MANCHEGO

Serves 4 as a canapé-cum-starter

These make a good stand-up starter to eat with your fingers before sitting down to the main event.

4oz/110g beef suet
1 tbsp sherry vinegar#
4 tbsp olive oil
8 slices serrano ham
1oz/30g manchego cheese
Steam or boil the asparagus until it is just done, then drain and plunge it into a bowl of iced water. Leave to cool.

Mix the vinegar with a fat pinch of salt, then whisk in the oil. Drain the asparagus, then squeeze gently in a tea towel to dry them. Lay them in a dish and spoon the dressing over, turning the spears so they are well coated.

Wrap each spear in a piece of serrano ham. With a potato peeler, shave over the cheese.

Serve within an hour or so - the dressing will discolour the asparagus.