Les Asperges

Washed, peeled, and trimmed asparagus all in a row.

Asparagus season is here ! The Loire Valley is one of the regions where asparagus is grown in France and now is the time. Here, the stalks are grown in hills of dirt and are not allowed to see the light of day. This makes them white, not green, and very tasty. The season will last about a month or so, then they'll start getting rare and expensive, then they'll be gone.

Some of the tips are green, some are a pleasing shade of purple.

We went to the market in St. Aignan Saturday morning on a quest to see if the vendors indeed had asparagus, and they did. The prices are amazing. They ranged from €13/kilo down to €7/kilo. The least expensive ones are sold by a guy who sets up a table in our market and the market in Selles-sur-Cher every year. He sells goat cheese, honey, and asparagus (in season). I'm sure he's a local guy who grows them on his property nearby, making his overhead quite low.

The cooked spears are lined up on a slice of ham.

We bought two bottes from that guy (his asparagus is always good) with the intention of making one of our favorite dishes : asparagus wrapped in ham and gratinéed in a béchamel sauce with cheese. We also do this dish with endives when asparagus are not in season.

The ham is rolled around the asparagus and placed in a baking dish on a bit of béchamel sauce.

I must confess, Ken did all the cooking here. I took the pictures. We both devoured the result. We only used one botte d'asperges, so we still have a bunch left for another meal. What to do...

These are still only partially covered. More sauce goes on before they go into the oven.

The rolls are covered with the remaining béchamel and some grated cheese, then popped into the oven until bubbly and golden brown. My pictures of the finished dish didn't come out too well, so you'll have to use your imagination !

And, check out Loulou in southwestern France for a great recipe for asparagus risotto with sparkling wine !