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Active Time
35 min
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Total Time
35 min
Here, a velvety sauce studded with salty nuggets of country ham strengthens, rather than hides, the meaty savor of asparagus. But what we particularly love about this dish is the toast, made from a sturdy white sandwich loaf, one from a bakery (not from the packaged-bread aisle at the supermarket), the kind of bread that doesn't disintegrate under an extravagant topping but instead turns succulent.
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
Step 1
Steam asparagus in a steamer rack over boiling water, covered, until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.
Step 2
Put broiler pan (with unlined rack) in broiler and preheat broiler 5 minutes.
Step 3
慷慨的黄油面包片1一侧,然后哈尔ve diagonally. Arrange bread, buttered sides up, on rack of hot broiler pan and broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until golden-brown in some spots and undersides are toasted, 2 to 3 minutes (watch carefully).
Step 4
Briskly simmer cream, ham, garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a 12-inch heavy skillet, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and is reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 3 minutes. (If necessary, keep warm, covered.)
Step 5
Arrange asparagus on toast, then stir sauce and spoon over asparagus.
Virginia country ham is available at some specialty foods shops and virginatraditions.com.
Leave a Review
Reviews (3)
Back to TopTasted great; my picky husband devoured every last crumb and even scraped the leftover sauce out of the pan. The only difficulty we had was figuring out how to eat the concoction. We finally just folded the toasted bread with ham, asparagus, and cream sauce inside like a bizarre, somewhat messy sandwich. Not good for refined company but great for a quick dinner using minimal ingredients. I prepared and cooked this in under ten minutes.
Anonymous
Round Rock, TX
8/13/2008
My mother used to make a recipe like this 40 years ago! She used toast cubes and a white sauce atop cooked (frozen) asparagus. I still make it, but using fresh asparagus. It is simple and delicious comfort food!
Anonymous
NoVA
1/26/2008
My mother used to make a recipe like this (40 years ago!) with frozen asparagus, sprinkled with cubed white toast and white sauce. I still make it but with fresh asparagus. It is very simple but delicious comfort food!
Anonymous
NoVa
1/26/2008
