Scrape and boil your asparagus and place them on a dish, pour over them a sauce of melted fresh butter mixed with strong gravy, some grated Parmesan cheese, and a little pepper; then powder them with a little grated Parmesan cheese, pour some more melted butter over them, colour with the salamander and serve immediately.
Asparagus ‘Perlate.’
Cut the heads of a bunch of asparagus into small pieces like peas, and put them into salted boiling water. When almost cooked, drain, and put them into a sauce-pan with four ounces of fresh butter and a little powdered sugar, sprinkle well with flour, and pour a little soup, or sauce ‘Vellutata’ over them (see Sauces, p. [127]). When thoroughly cooked, mix two or three well-beaten-up yolks of eggs with them, and serve very hot.
Asparagus tips ‘alla Suprema.’
Choose asparagus of about the same size, break off the tenderest part with your fingers, and cut them in small bits, cooking the tips last. Put them into salted boiling water, then drain, and place them in a baking-pan with melted fresh butter, keep them a few minutes on the fire, add some salt, a little gravy, fresh butter and lemon juice. Serve hot.
Asparagus on Toast. No. 1.
Wash the asparagus well and scrape the stalks, then tie in bunches and put them into an earthenware pot of boiling water slightly salted; boil for about twenty minutes, until they are tender but not over-done, cut some toasted bread into square pieces (without the crust), and put a bit of butter on each piece. When the asparagus is cooked and drained, untie the bunches and place it on the toast, taking care to lay the heads all the same way. Then melt four ounces of fresh butter with a little flour in a frying-pan, and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Serve the sauce separately, or a sauce ‘Olandese’ if better liked (see Sauces, p. [124]).
Asparagus on Toast. No. 2.
Cut off the bottom of the stalks of a bunch of asparagus to make them even, and put them into a pan of cold water till near dinner-time. Then put the bunch in boiling water in which a pinch of soda, the weight of a pea, has been dissolved. Boil a quarter of an hour, then drain, cut the twine and serve. Have the buttered toast ready, place the white ends of the asparagus on it and pour one tablespoonful of melted butter over the green heads in the dish.