Hello everyone!

Are you enjoying summer so far? My terrace definitely is, we are making progress. See?
Supposedly, this will be the hottest weekend of the year so far, so after I post this, I will head off to the shower and then begin with the preparations for today’s BBQ!

Asparagus season is slowly winding down, so I am trying to eat it as many times in a week as possible before I have to wait for another ten months in order to indulge again. Here in Germany, we love our white asparagus, and we eat it boiled/steamed, accompanied with boiled potatoes and sauce hollandaise. While I do love this combination, being German and everything, I do think it tends to be heavy on the hips considering all the butter and egg yolks that are required to make a tasty hollandaise.

So, at the beginning of the 2014 asparagus season, I asked around the German Celiac Exchange for healthier options, which were still tasty. I received a bunch of answers, but never got around to trying more than one, because I never wanted to eat it any other way. It’s really simple, doesn’t require a lot of input on your part and just a bit of patience. The result is tremendously surprising, the asparagus is soft and its entire flavor concentrates inside. The asparagus melts like butter on your tongue, it’s so good! And yes, this recipe still does require a bit of butter, but you don’t actually have to most of it eat it, as it will remain in the dish or in the aluminum foil. If you let the butter cool down, you can absolutely save it and use it like you would ghee.
I’ve made green asparagus this way, too – you obviously don’t peel it – and I can absolutely recommend making this recipe with either asparagus type, it’s really delicious! I’ve also had leftovers (yeah, I know, how could this happen?) and chopped them into my salad the following day. Yum!

Let me know how you like it!

Ingredients:
500 (1 pound) white asparagus
2 tbsp butter (use extra virgin olive oil for a vegan option)
3 to 5 tsbp water
salt and sugar to taste

Heat your oven to 220°C.

Peel the white asparagus and wash them well. Place the asparagus on a large-ish piece of aluminum foil and shape the aluminum foil into a boat. You can also work with a casserole dish, if you like. Sprinkle salt and sugar over asparagus, then do the same with the butter (preferably in small chunks). Distribute the water evenly over asparagus and then fold a second piece of aluminum foil over the boat. Carefully, without ripping the aluminum foil, place the asparagus into your oven and let cook for an hour. I suggest opening the construction after half an hour and switching the asparagus on the bottom with the ones on the top, ensuring they all get boiled evenly. If the asparagus is too dry, I also suggest adding a bit more water. You can eat these plain, or with boiled potatoes, accompanied with a glass of good dry white wine.Note: Depending on your oven, the asparagus may be cooked after 45 minutes.
If I make this recipe in my small microwave using the oven-mode at the highest temperature, it will take about an hour and a half.