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Asparagus, Boiled

Boiled asparagus served on toast with Hollandaise sauce, white sauce, or oiled butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Asparagus, Boiled

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Scrape the white part of the asparagus stems, starting from the head.

  2. Tie the asparagus into bundles of about 20, keeping the heads aligned.

  3. Cut the stalks evenly and keep the asparagus in cold water until ready to cook.

Cook and serve

  1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add the salt.

  2. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and boil gently for about 20 minutes, or until tender.

  3. Serve the asparagus on toast with Hollandaise sauce, white sauce, or oiled butter.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Asparagus
Forms the main body of the dish, with tender stalks that soften as they cook.
Toast
Provides a crisp, absorbent base that holds the asparagus and soaks up sauce.

The step that matters

Boil gently for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Boiling too hard can break up or overcook the delicate tips while the thick stalks are still firm. Gentle simmering cooks the stalks evenly, so the tender test is the real guide rather than the clock.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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