I can’t resist asparagus and although there are many delicious asparagus recipes the one I’m going to show you here is my favorite. My father loved it too and he was a professional chef.

Luckily it is very easy and quick to prepare and it can be served as a delicious lunch or evening meal. Asparagus is so delicate and nutritious that you really don’t need to do much more than boil, roast or grill it for a few minutes to have a very tasty side dish to a meal.

This dish holds many special memories and I hope you have a go at making this delicious recipe and let me know in the comments below what you think of it.

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The Simplest Asparagus Recipes are Always the Best

Rating  5 from 1 reviews

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  10 mins

Total time:  20 mins

Serves: Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of fresh asparagus. Always choose bright green colored asparagus with tightly closed tips.
• 4 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
• A knob of butter
• Olive oil

Instructions

1. Thoroughly wash the asparagus
2. Take each asparagus one by one, hold it by the top and bottom and bend it till it snaps. It will break where the edible part ends. Keep the bottom ends for making homemade asparagus soup
3. Place the top ends in a pot, cover with slightly salted water, and boil for about 5 minutes depending on how big they are. Don't over cook them or they'll lose their flavor and fall apart
4. Take a frying pan and add a little olive oil and butter, heat till it starts to sizzle
5. Fry two eggs
6. When they are almost cooked to your liking, add half the cooked asparagus to the same frying pan on the side of the eggs and toss it in the oil and butter. Sprinkle everything with Parmesan and fry a little. The flavors will all merge together beautifully. Try not to break the yolk of the eggs
7. Season to taste
8. Place on a dish, sprinkle a little more Parmesan on top and serve immediately
9. Repeat with the other two eggs and the rest of the asparagus. You could do them all at the same time, but I prefer this way as it is easier to manage.

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Facts About Asparagus

• The Ancient Egyptians, Greek and the Romans all ate asparagus and also used it for medicinal purposes.
• Asparagus were introduced in the United States in 1850.
• You only eat young shoots because once the bubs open they turn woody.
• The thickness of the stem tells us how old the plant is.
• There is both green and white asparagus. The white is more common in Europe, it is called ‘white gold’ or ‘edible ivory’ and it is less bitter and much more tender than the green variety. To keep it white it is grown under the ground.
• Asparagus are full of vitamins, and are rich in iron.
• Asparagus causes a powerful smell in the urine of some people. But others do not suffer from this.
• However some people do have this problem but don’t realize it because they can’t smell it themselves!
• The English word ‘asparagus’ comes from Latin and it was once called ‘sperage’.
• Asparagus is particularly appreciated in Germany where they hold an annual festival ‘Spargelfest’, and Schwetzingen calls itself the ‘Asparagus Capital of the World,’ and during their festival they crown an Asparagus Queen.
• The city of Stockton in California also holds a festival to celebrate asparagus and so does Hart in Michigan and they have an Asparagus Queen too.
• Worcestershire in the UK produces the largest crop in Northern Europe. They have a week long festival and dress up like asparagus!

Here’s a video that shows you how to roast it, and grilling it is very similar.

When I was young I worked in my uncle’s Italian delicatessen shop on weekends to earn some pocket money. It was the sort of shop that sold homemade Italian dishes and delicacies and I learned many things about food there, and especially cheese, which goes very well indeed with asparagus.

The best cheese in the world, in my opinion, is Parmesan an Italian hard granular cheese that is made in northern Italy.

It is no wonder that Samuel Pepys buried his in the garden during the great fire of London! This delicious cheese is commonly grated over pasta dishes and is also absolutely vital to this asparagus recipe.

We were very fortunate because our delicatessen had a garden where asparagus grew. So we sold freshly picked asparagus during the summer.

My uncle also prepared many delicious asparagus recipes with them. It was such a lovely shop I loved working there, and one of my secret dreams still is to one day have a shop just like it!

   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Giovanna Sanguinetti has been a teacher for many years and loves teaching dyslexic children. She is a qualified and experienced teacher of drama and theatre arts too. Her big love is theatre directing. She lives in London and is currently embarking on a very exciting project home educating her son through his exams years of school. While she does this she will continue writing online about education. Giovanna also loves adventure travel and is passionate about responsible and sustainable travel. She enjoys writing about this and has her own brand-new website. She is also the Travel Feature Editor on Tastes Magazine.