Cut the heads off a bunch of asparagus, boil them in slightly salted water for about fifteen minutes, and then strain. Put half a tumbler of cream, in which the yolk of an egg and two ounces of butter have been well beaten up, into a frying-pan, add a tablespoonful of sugar, salt and pepper to taste, and stir slowly over the fire for five or six minutes. Then fry your asparagus heads in it and serve very hot.
Asparagus ‘ai Gamberi.’
Cut the tender heads of the asparagus in equal lengths and boil them, then pickle them in good olive oil, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Stick a hunch of bread into the centre of a dish, cover it with sauce ‘Mayonnaise,’ and place the asparagus heads (over which you have just squeezed some lemon juice) round and over it. Garnish the dish with sauce ‘Mayonnaise’ (see Sauces, p. [123]) and crayfish tails, and serve. Some jelly will be an addition.
Asparagus ‘in Istufato.’
Cut the heads off a bunch of asparagus and wash them well in cold salted water. Strain, and when dry put them into a sauce-pan with a tablespoonful of flour, four ounces of butter, half a pint of cream (or milk), and a little salt and pepper. Leave them on the fire until they begin to boil, then remove, and serve up hot.
Asparagus tips ‘all’ Italiana.’
Prepare about 200 asparagus tips two or two and a half inches long, half cook, and then drain them. Put them in a baking-pan with fresh butter and strong gravy, taking care that they should be well glacées. Cook fifteen or eighteen eggs for five minutes, shell them and keep them warm in hot water. Pile a stiff purée of potatoes dome-shaped on a dish, arrange your asparagus heads (pointing upwards) round it, heat the dish well, and stand your eggs upright all round, pouring a white sauce over them. Serve very hot.
Asparagus ‘all’ Olandese.’
Take a bunch of asparagus and scrape the stalks well. Cut them of equal length and put them into boiling salted water (if they are not all of the same size, put the biggest in first, or the small ones will be too much cooked) and boil fast. Drain well, and place them on a napkin in a dish, with sauce ‘Olandese’ (see Sauces, p. [124]) in a sauce-boat apart.