White asparagus is incredibly nasty. Definitely nastier than green asparagus. You probably already know how to peel the green kind from the Prymitywna Kuchnia YouTube channel. The video of me peeling the white kind is not fit for publication.
Imagine this: I had to buy a vegetable peeler. There is no other way. So if you want to know how to peel white asparagus, you absolutely have to get the right equipment. It is incredibly awkward stuff to deal with. Nothing as easy as peeling carrots or potatoes. What’s more, I can’t peel a potato with a peeler, and I don’t like doing carrots with one either. With white asparagus, there is no other way.
Still, despite all that torment, white asparagus is worth persevering with. It does taste a little different from the green kind. You have to try it.
Today I’m having a mixture, because I had both green and white asparagus. And I’m definitely doing it the German way. Besides, the asparagus came from German soil, so I gave it the German treatment with Black Forest ham. Not without reason. Actually, I don’t know whether I’ve mentioned this, but I first got to know asparagus on trips to Germany. In fact, I think it was exactly a week after my eighteenth birthday, when my uncle took me along on a business trip. I was going to buy my first SLR camera (yes, I used to take nice photos, but that was before smartphones). I managed to buy the camera and fell in love with those stalks from the soil into the bargain.
As I remember it, May was most definitely asparagus season in many German restaurants. Here in Poland, it’s only in the last few years that those stalks have really started appearing on restaurant menus as a May attraction. Anyway, it was exactly those 18 years ago (I can’t believe my 18th birthday was 18 years ago — does that mean my second one is next week?) that I discovered asparagus. Delicate-tasting stalks with funny little tips. Oh, and one more thing about peeling: when you do the white ones, watch out for those sensitive tips and handle them gently. They hold the full flavour of each asparagus spear. That’s why I believe in eating asparagus from the bottom end first. Highly recommended!
At a glance:
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes
Baking temperature: 200 degrees Celsius
Serves: 2 people
Calories: they all emigrate to Germany
Ingredients for white and green asparagus under a blanket of cheese:
- 12 green asparagus spears
- 6 white asparagus spears
- 6 slices of Black Forest ham
- 50 decagrams of mozzarella (the firm kind, not a ball)
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
Recipe for asparagus baked with Black Forest ham and mozzarella:
I peeled the white asparagus (with a vegetable peeler) and just trimmed the ends off the green spears. In a large pot I brought 2 litres of lightly salted water to the boil, then dropped in the white and green asparagus. After 10 minutes I took it out of the water and dried it.
Once the asparagus had cooled a little, I wrapped each spear in a piece of Black Forest ham (I cut each slice into 3 pieces) and laid it in an ovenproof dish. When all the spears were in the dish, I seasoned them generously with freshly ground pepper. I cut the mozzarella into small cubes and scattered them over the asparagus (leaving the tips uncovered). I put the dish in the oven, preheated to 200 degrees Celsius, for 15 minutes.
After that, the dish is ready. You can serve it as a side dish, a starter, or eat it as I did, with new potatoes sprinkled with dill. Enjoy!
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