DUTCH FOOD Calendar presents White Asparagus in May

Asparagus

Who doesn’t love the asparagus, the queen among the vegetables, the famous ‘white gold’? Dutch asparagus are always a treat. And the fact that they can only be served during the asparagus season that lasts just two months, only adds to their appeal. In earlier times, the asparagus was considered a medicine against problems like toothaches and heart conditions. Nowadays the Dutch eat them with ham, a soft boiled egg and melted butter.

One Dutch painter was especially inspired by the asparagus. 17^th century master of still lifes Adriaen Coorte got famous with no less than seven paintings of the tasty vegetable. If you want to cook them yourself and add an extra efficient Dutch touch, use the pealing of the asparagus to make soup. That way you get two dishes out of one vegetable, and reduce food waste.

INGREDIENTS

2 kg white asparagus

1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp butter

1 egg and a slice of ham

DIRECTIONS

1. Clean and peel the asparagus, cut off the bottom inch.

2. Put the asparagus in a pan of water, the amount so that you will not cover the heads of the asparagus, add the butter, sugar and salt, bring to boiling point, lower the heat and cook till they’re tender.

3. Garnish with the ham and egg, serve with some melted butter.

Simple as that.

See the recepie here and Facebook page