Cookery for every household

To Prepare. — Cut the stalks all one length, and scrape the white part lightly with a knife from the tip downwards. Then wash in cold water, being very careful not to break the green points. Tie the asparagus in bundles with a piece of tape, keeping the heads all one way, and let these bundles lie in cold water for £ hour. Then drain. To Boil or Steam. — Choose a saucepan large enough to hold the asparagus lying flat, and if possible place a wire drainer at the foot of it. Pour in enough water to cover the asparagus and add salt and a little lemon juice. When boiling, put in the asparagus and boil it gently until the green part is quite tender. Drain when ready. The asparagus may be steamed instead of boiled, or, what is better still, cooked in an asparagus cooker Asparagus Cooker which has an arrangement whereby the stalks only are in the water, while the points are cooked by steam. The time for cooking will depend on the size of the vegetable, from 20 to 30 minutes or longer. 405. Asparagus, To Serve Asparagus should be served on a folded serviette or in an asparagus dish and the sauce which accompanies it served separately, and never on any account poured over the vegetable. It may be served hot with melted butter or hollandaise sauce, or cold with sauce vinaigrette or mayonnaise. Some epicures reverse this and serve it hot with an icy cold sauce, and cold with hot hollandaise. Hollandaise sauce to which the juice of an orange or a mandarin has been added is also a very delicious accompaniment. 406. Iced Asparagus This is a very pleasant way of serving asparagus in hot weather. After cooking arrange it neatly on an asparagus dish, sprinkle it with a few drops of tarragon vinegar and place it in the refrigerator, or on ice until wanted. Serve with good cream, also iced, or with iced mousseline or hollandaise sauce. See Recipes 723-730. 407. Asparagus Points with Cream (Asperges en Petits Pois a la Creme) Asparagus. 1 oz. butter. I 1 table-sp. cream. J tea-cupful water. I Pepper, salt. 1 yolk of egg. | A pinch of sugar. Very thin green asparagus or sprue is best for these. Cut the stalks in pieces about an inch long, using only the tender part. To 2 teacupfuls of points allow the above ingredients. Throw the pieces into a saucepan of boiling water ; boil two or three minutes, and then drain. Melt the butter in a small stewpan or earthenware casserole, put in the asparagus points, with the water, pepper, salt, and a pinch of sugar, and stew slowly with the lid on the pan for half an hour. Then add the yolk of egg and cream, mix well, and serve at once and very hot. Note. — If liked, a small lettuce finely shred may be cooked along with the asparagus points. 408. Asparagus au Gratin (Asperges au Gratin) Cooked asparagus. I Bread-crumbs. Butter. Grated Parmesan. I Seasoning. Take the remains of cooked asparagus and cut the tender part in small pieces about an inch in length. Grease some scallop shells with melted butter and sprinkle them with fine bread-crumbs. Put some asparagus into each, season with pepper, salt, and a slight squeeze of lemon juice. Sprinkle the top with more bread-crumbs mixed with a little grated Parmesan and pour over enough melted butter to moisten. Bake in a good oven until lightly browned.