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The British asparagus season is a highlight of the foodie calendar. The first spears appear at the end of April, but the season lasts just eight weeks so we need to make the most of each delicious bundle while we can.

Did you know that not only is asparagus one of the most flavourful vegetables we grow in Britain, but claims suggest it can boost your sex drive, improve the condition of skin, hair and nails, has high levels of dietary fibre and folic acid and is very low in cholesterol.

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Market regular Julia Colegrave from Oxfordshire’s Wykham Park Asparagus Farm near Banbury says, “We started off in the early 1990s with a few acres and a stall in the garage, and it just grew from there. Now we have 35 acres ready for harvesting.Ìý Asparagus needs land that is well-drained and rich in mineral nutrients and it takes three years for the plants to grow enough to be ready to cut, so we've always got more beds at a nursery stage for future harvests.â€�

Lamb Argenteuil

Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour

2lb Wykham asparagus
2lb diced Wykham Spring Lamb
4 small onions
2oz butter
1 heaped tbsp flour
¼ pint double cream
Salt & pepper
Lemon juice

Toss the lamb in seasoned flour. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Melt the butter in deep frying pan and cook the meat and onions until browned. Meanwhile cook the asparagus until tender, drain well reserving the cooking liquor. Cut off the tips and set aside. Puree the remainder, sieving to remove any woody tissue.

Gradually blend in to the meat about ½ pint of the asparagus liquor, stirring continuously until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Simmer until the meat is tender (about 50 minutes) stirring occasionally. If the liquid evaporates too quickly, cover the pan with a lid.

When the meat is cooked, stir the asparagus puree and cream into the sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. The sauce should be fairly thick. Garnish with the asparagus tips.