Yesterday, we had one of my favourite dishes. It’s simple, very tasty and pretty quick to prepare. You could also say it is quite vegetarian too, seeing as no meat is involved, but it’s not vegan, because you need eggs and a little cheese can be added too. I don’t know how well it is known outside of Italy, but I had never come across it before I came to the living museum. Right, now that I may have managed to get your tastebuds a tingling, I’ll cut straight to the recipe.
All you need are two, for two hungry people, bunches of asparagus, that’s about 15 pieces of asparagus in each bunch, I think. You chop the inedible bits, the white parts, off the asparagus, cut the remaining pieces into sticks of two or three, of about 2 inches/5 cm, depending how long they originals were. Then you throw all the edible bits into a pan of salted boiling water and cook them until they are tender, but not overdone. Stick a fork in it or try a bit to make sure it’s not about to disintegrate.
Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
When the bits of asparagus are just about ready, heat up a little olive oil in a big frying pan, then pop the cooked asparagus into the pan, laying it out so that all the bits form one green layer, which will look a bit like one of those rafts beloved of people trying to escape from desert islands . Turn up the heat a little and crack between two and six (you decide!) eggs over the asparagus fronds. Then you wait until the eggs are just about cooked, but still have nice runny yolks and serve the whole lot onto plates, being careful not to burst the egg yolks.
Boy is this yummy, if you like asparagus, that is. To add to the yumminess factor, you can sprinkle some fresh Parmesan cheese over the eggs and asparagus while they are cooking, or if you are with a non-Parmesan lover, sprinkle the cheese over the eggs and asparagus on your portion while they are on the plate. Don’t wait, serve the whole lot while it’s still good and hot. I love it. Enjoy!
There is one slight side effect from eating copious amounts of asparagus, and if you are an asparagus eater, you will know to what I am referring! For those of you who are not, you may notice a strange odour while you are satisfying the call of nature. Don’t worry, though. The effect wears off after a half a day or so.
