Those wider, flat ends of the spears are woody and tough, and just not good for eating... so there's a little prep work involved. There are two main methods for prepping: - Snap, then chop. This is my preferred method, and the method employed in this recipe. Snap one spear, by holding on to each end and bend it up and away from yourself until it breaks. Use that spear as a guide and line it up next to all the other spears and chop them to be the same size as the chopped one. - Just chop. Generally, the tough and woody part of the spears is the whiter part, so if you chop just a little above that line you’ll likely be good.