I am a fan of simple and quick cooking. And especially when high-quality ingredients are available, why would we cook any other way?

This weekend at the farmers’ market, I bought asparagus—one of the earliest spring vegetables—from my friend Nevia Yu and did next to nothing to prepare them.

I put the pencil-thin asparagus in a toaster oven (at 325 degrees) for about three minutes, enough time to slightly soften them. With a minute or two of carryover cooking, the asparagus were perfectly cooked and bursting with a woodsy flavor I hadn’t tasted since last spring.

We ate some plain and added a drop of lemon juice and a pinch of unrefined sea salt to the others.

The moral of the story? Search out top-notch ingredients, let the food speak for itself and you’ll be rewarded with sublime results.