“The aphorism is like the asparagus: the good is in the tip.”
Roberto Gervaso
April brings us another Venetian excellence product: the white asparagus.
Tasty, tender and full of benefits for our body, the asparagus is never missing on spring tables. Each city in Veneto has its own variety: Vicenza with its white Bassano asparagus, Treviso with its Cimadolmo asparagus and finally Padova and Venezia grow the Badoere asparagus.
Originally from Mesopotamia (western Asia), it was the ancient Egyptians who spread it to the Mediterranean basin, while it was already growing as a wild plant in southern Europe. Ancient Roman manuals about its cultivation have been found dating back to 200 BC. Continuing in more recent times, from the 15th century it began to be cultivated in France, then in England in the 16th century and later in North America where the natives dried it for medicinal purposes.
Nowadays France, Germany and Italy are the bigger producers of asparagus and, as far as we are concerned, in the Veneto many varieties have been awarded the PGI and PDO labels. There are two legends about how they arrived in our beloved region:
- It is said that St Anthony of Padua, coming back from Egypt and to please the terrible Ezzelino da Romano, sowed some seeds in the area of Bassano del Grappa.
- There is talk of a chance discovery by a Bassano farmer in the 16th After a heavy storm, the outer part of the ground was damaged and the man decided to pick them up and eat them, realizing how tasty they were.
White asparagus is high in fiber and low in calories. They belong to the Liliaceae family and are a prized variety that is grown under mounds of earth, protected from the sun with cloths and strictly manually processed.
Bassano white asparagus PDO is grown in 10 municipalities in the Bassano area and has a distinctive pink color, a bitter-sweet flavor and a tender texture, never woody. The producers observe very strict rules supervised by the Consorzio di Tutela dell’Asparago Bianco di Bassano established in 1980.
The white asparagus of Cimadolmo is grown in the areas along the Piave river in the nearby of Treviso and it is completely white, with a fresh and delicate aroma, tender and with a sweetish flavor. In 2006 was founded “La strada dell’asparago”, an association of producers, restaurateurs and institutions in the municipality of Cimadolmo and surrounding areas.
“Sparasi e ovi” (asparagus and eggs), asparagus risotto, asparagus omelet and so on: from the first course to dessert, there are all kinds of preparations.
Once the asparagus has been cleaned and boiled, it can be served with boiled eggs and butter or with the famous bassanese sauce:
4 eggs finely chopped in a small bowl and mix them with 6 spoons of extra virgin olive oil and 4 spoons of white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and here is the most famous sauce of the Veneto region to accompany white asparagus.
At the AbanoRitz we are definitely more on salty recipes and we love to propose the asparagus in our White Gloves restaurant, but we are also intrigued by the idea of an asparagus dessert, so here is the recipe for an “asparagusy” creme caramel.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 entire egg
- 2 egg yolk
- 1 vanilla stick
- 75 g of brown sugar
- 200 g of fresh cream
- 200 g of Bassano asparagus PDO pulp
- wild berries
- caramel
PREPARATION
- Cut the asparagus stalks into rounds and boil them, keeping the tips aside for later cooking as a garnish.
- Mix the asparagus, eggs, sugar and vanilla.
- Pour the caramel into the bottom of the mould and then fill with the prepared mixture.
- Cover the mould with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes at 85°.
- Leave all cooling in the fridge for about 3 hours and serve with asparagus tips, brown sugar and berries.
