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Classic
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page 60
Instead of cooking meat in the greens, sliced smoked bacon may be slightly fried
on a slow fire, then take some of its fat and add to the greens, and serve the
bacon separately. This is not only economical, but is preferred by a great many.
15. Asparagus. Scrape the coarse skin from each blade and cut from the bottom as
much as is hard. A better way still is as follows: slit the outer skin from the
bottom upwards and take it off at once; a little practice will enable one to do
this rapidly. Then wash the asparagus, tie into bunches, making the tips even
and cutting the lower ends all of one length. Cook with a little salt in not too
much water, which should boil moderately, otherwise the tips will become too
soft. The addition to the salt water of a pinch of sugar and a piece of butter
the size of a hazelnut gives the asparagus a very delicious taste. As soon as
the lower ends become tender (the usual time for tips is 1/4 of an hour and for
the whole blade 1/2 hour) put the bunches on a heated platter, cut the bands and
serve.
Serve with either an asparagus sauce (see under R) or pass with it melted
butter; frequently the grated yolks of hard boiled eggs accompany the butter.
In South Germany cream sauces are preferred; in England the asparagus is placed
on large pieces of toast, and melted butter, into which the yolks of 3 eggs have
been stirred, is poured over it; sometimes parmesan cheese is grated over it,
and fried eggs laid on top. Appropriate side dishes are cutlets, roast poultry,
meat balls scrambled eggs, raw ham and smoked salmon.
It should be noted that asparagus must never be permitted to lay in water.
16. Stewed Asparagus. Scrape or peel the asparagus, cut into pieces, lay aside
the tips and cook the rest until half done, because these pieces sometimes have
a slightly bitter taste then bring meat broth with a good sized piece of butter,
a trifle of mace and some salt to a boil; put into this all of the asparagus
pieces and let it simmer slowly until soft. Shortly before serving add some
crushed toast and stir into the broth the yolks of a few eggs. Serve neatly
garnishing with bread dumplings and pour the thick broth over all.
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