Cindystar: Spárga Magyar - Hungarian Asparagus

la ricetta in italiano qui

We said that paprika is never missed in Hungarians dishes, as well as sour cream, that they call tejföl.

I found this delicious recipe offering asparagus in an unusual way, at least for us Italians where the typical must is always a dish of dressed with oil and vinegar and strictly accompanied by boiled eggs, (and in Veneto, where I live, we mainly use big white asparagus, Mambrotta or Bassano.

We also are in the highlight of the season for asparagus, so beneficial and healthy, so I didn't hesitate to give a try fro this recipe.

Because of their high potassium content, asparagus represent a very useful food for heart and muscles in general; worthy of consideration also their diuretic effect due to the very high relationship potassium/nitrogen and asparagine, which moreover is responsible for the strong penetrating smell. Asparagus are also low-calorie and make a balanced amount of vitamins and minerals to the body which are almost indispensable for the proper functioning of the nervous system and heart.

Like almost all natural plants, asparagus have healing properties, because they are recommended for the treatment of rheumatic diseases and urinary problems.

The roots of asparagus are used to give benefit to the heart suffering people, eliminating the water that accumulates in various tissues due to weak heart activity. The best way to enhance its diuretic properties is by decoction.

The recipe was shown for 4 people but I think it's very abundant and more indicated if considered as a single dish, as appetizer or side dish better halve it.

You can use any type of asparagus, green ones will give color to the dish and you know thatwe eat with eyes first :-).

Unfortunately I only found thin green asparagus (and they weremuch more boring to clean), but worked well too, and approved by my table's companions.

Always better to thoroughly wash the asparagus after they have been scraped (I use a carrot peeler that can peel very finely) because ithey may contain traces of soil: usually I leave them to soak in cold water with some ice cubes for half an hour.

You need:

2 kg green asparagus

400 ml sour cream

1 egg yolk

paprika

80 g Emmental or Parmesan cheese

50 g breadcrumbs

chopped parsley

a knob of butter

salt

- Rinse quickly asparagus, remove the hardest part of the stem and gently scrape. Rinse well.

- Boil them (but don't overboiled, must be firm) in lightly salted boiling water . Drain and place on an incline plate to drain further.

- Melt the butter in a small frying pan, add breadcrumbs and lightly brown and then add sour cream, paprika, and salt.

- Mix together, if too thick (depending on sour cream texture) add a little milk. Add egg yolk, out of fire.

- Butter or lightly oil a baking dish, put about half of the asparagus, cover with a third of the sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese, put remaining asparagus, sauce and cheese.

- Gratin in the oven at 200° for about 10 minutes, sprinkle with chopped parsley and a pinch of paprika and serve immediately.