This recipe for crispy baked asparagus with Västerbotten cheese makes a wonderful starter, part of tapas or addition to a buffet.

Summary

Serves: 4 as a starter
Level: Easy
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

Tips

– This recipe works best with Panko breadcrumbs as they are nice and crunchy. They are popular in Japanese cuisine and are widely available in Europe, Australia and America, usually alongside other Japanese ingredients.

– Serve the asparagus with some delicious homemade lemon mayonnaise. For our recipe click here.

– If you have any leftovers, the spears can be gently reheated: 10 minutes at 140°C (290°F, gas 1, fan 140°C).

– If you can’t find any Västerbottensost you can use Parmesan cheese instead.

Ingredients

450g (1lb) green asparagus (untrimmed weight)
50g (3/4 cup) good quality breadcrumbs
25g (1/4 cup)  Västerbottensost, freshly grated
                       Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2tsp                Plain all-purpose flour
1                     Egg, lightly beaten
120g (1/2 cup) good quality mayonnaise

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas 6, fan 180°C).

2. Break the woody ends off the asparagus and discard (or keep for making soup). They should snap easily at the end of the woody part. Rinse them thoroughly to remove any grit and to ensure that spears are wet, so that the coating will stick to the spears.

3. Sprinkle the flour on to one plate, add the lightly beaten egg on another plate (or a flat-bottomed bowl) and mix the breadcrumbs, cheese and some freshly ground black pepper on a third plate.

4. Toss the asparagus spears in the flour, then in the beaten egg and finally in the breadcrumb mixture.

5. Spread them out in a single layer on a wire rack on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.

6. Serve with a generous portion of good quality mayonnaise, either plain or lemon. Absolutely delicious!

Recipe courtesy of John Duxbury, editor of Swedish Food.