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Boiled Asparagus
Untie the bunch of asparagus, cut off the tough portion of the stalk, remove the scales, and wash very thoroughly. When thoroughly cleansed, retie with a white tape wide enough not to cut the asparagus. Stand in a kettle of boiling, salted water, and cook uncovered for ten minutes, allowing the tips to remain out of the water. Then lay the bunch down so that it is wholly covered with water, and cook another five minutes. Remove from the water, and serve with a dressing of melted butter. If desired, the asparagus may be served on toast. The asparagus may be cut in small pieces and cooked if preferred.
A sound method dressed in period language: the stalks stand upright so the tough ends boil while the tender tips only steam. A few details need translating.
- Why it stands uprightAsparagus butts cook far slower than the tips. Standing the bundle in a few inches of water gives the stems a head start while the tips cook in the steam above. A tall pot, or a deep saucepan with the spears leaning against the side, does the job.
- White tapeThe recipe specifies tape wide enough not to cut the stalks, and string would do exactly that. Why white is not stated; the usual explanation is that dyes of the period were not reliably fast. Kitchen twine tied in two loose bands, or a silicone band, works; the point is only to keep the bundle from collapsing when you lift it.
- Fifteen minutes is longTotal cooking here runs to fifteen minutes, which suits the thick, older-cut asparagus of the period. Modern spears, especially pencil-thin ones, are done in three to five minutes and go grey and limp well before ten. Test with a knife tip at the thickest part of a stalk.
- Trimming"Cut off the tough portion" is best judged by snapping one spear; it breaks where the fibre ends, and you can cut the rest to match. The "scales" are the small triangular bracts on the stalk, which trap grit on sandy-grown asparagus; peeling the lower third with a vegetable peeler is quicker and achieves the same thing.
- Uncovered, and whyThe book does not explain the instruction. Cooking green vegetables uncovered is usually explained as letting volatile acids escape rather than condense back into the pot, where they are said to dull the colour. Leave the lid off, and keep the water at a steady boil rather than a hard rolling one that batters the tips.
- The dressingMelted butter here means just that -- warm butter poured over, not a sauce. A squeeze of lemon or a little of the cooking water whisked in stops it separating on the plate.
- YieldA standard bunch is about 1 lb and serves two as a course on toast, three or four as a side.
Served upright in a bundle, sauced with butter and laid on toast, asparagus could occupy the position on the plate usually given to a joint, and Victorian and Edwardian households bought specialised asparagus kettles, tongs and serving dishes for it. The upright-bundle technique is older than this book and is often associated with French practice, where the tied botte was a standard market unit. The white tape may be a small period detail: dyes of the day were not reliably fast, and a coloured string could leave a stain along the stalk.