To give the asparagus a more beautiful appearance, before cooking them, scrape off the white part with a knife and trim the end of the stalk; then tie them up with a string in bunches that are not too large, and so that they remain green, salt the water, immersing them when it is boiling hard and making a wind so that the boiling starts again immediately. They are cooked properly when the sparagus begins to bend at the head; but check with your fingers if they yield to the right pressure, as it is good that they are rather undercooked than overcooked. When you take them out, throw them into fresh water, but then remove them at once to serve them as hot as most people desire. This herbage, precious not only for its diuretic and digestive qualities, (…), boiled as it is, can be prepared in various ways, but the simplest and best is the common one of seasoning them with very fine oil and vinegar or lemon vinegacr.

text taken from:
At the table with asparagus
Giampiero Rorato, Morganti Editore, 1991