Asparagus Veneto Style Recipe

Asparagus Veneto Style

Asparagi Alla Veneta
from Insalate: Authentic Italian Salads for all seasons by Susan Simon

Ingredients:

2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and peeled
Four 8-minute hard-cooked eggs
Extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste for serving

This and many other wonderful recipes may be found in
Insalate: Authentic Italian Salads for all seasons
by Susan Simon from Chronicle Books

It's said that the asparagus from Bassano, in the Veneto, is just about the best-tasting stalk there is, though generally, it's the Veneti who expound the virtues of the labor-intensive-to-produce white asparagus. White asparagus grow in mounds of earth and need to be harvested with special tools that reach into the ground to pick them. Here's one thing that everyone agrees on: The Veneti know how to prepare asparagus. Many towns celebrate the harvest with festivals, and restaurants devote entire menus to asparagus. This classic preparation is one that you'd be offered in every home from Bassano to Mestre and from Chioggia to Verona as a first-course salad. You can use white or green asparagus with equally good results.

1 . In a large pot of boiling water, cook the asparagus for 2 minutes. Plunge into ice water to halt the cooking and drain on paper towels.

2. Divide the asparagus equally among 4 plates. Put a peeled hardcooked egg on each plate. The diners should be instructed to chop or mash their egg and add olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste, then eat the asparagus by dipping each stalk into and scooping up the egg mixture.