There's been a lot of vegetable recipes on the site recently, not because I've resorted to vegetarianism, just simply because there is some great seasonal veg available this time of year. This recipe came about when I was cooking chicken tikka on the bbq and had some leftover marinade so used it on the accompanying asparagus. The marinade works really well with white asparagus as it has a natural sweetness, green not so well. The marinade will also pair nicely with cauliflower.

10 white asparagus spears peeled

For the tikka marinade
2g coriander seeds
10g cumin seeds
15g tomato puree
5g garam masala
2g chilli flakes
10g sweet paprika powder
Juice 1 lemon
10g grated red onion
10g fresh ginger grated
2 cloves garlic grated
5g salt
100ml yoghurt

Roast the coriander and cumin seeds in a pan over medium heat for 5 mins
Once roasted, grind in a mortar and pestle
Mix the rest of the ingredients together to form a thick paste

To cook the asparagus
Coat the asparagus spears well in the marinade and allow to sit for 15 minutes
Set your BBQ up for direct cooking at 220c
Cook the spears for 3-6 minutes (this depends on the thickness of the spears) ensuring you get a nice char
The spears are cooked when a knife pierces the spear easily