Asparagus

Sifting through the fridge for some lunch the other day, I decided to use some asparagus to create the traditional asparagus and poached egg dish. I'd never got around to making it, always meant to and now have had it twice. It makes a quick and easy, but filling lunch.

Asparagus has been used from very early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavour and diuretic properties. There is a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius’s third century AD De re coquinaria, Book III. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who were thought to eat it fresh when in season and dried the vegetable for use in winter. It lost its popularity in the Middle Ages but returned to favour in the seventeenth century. (Wikipedia)

Asparagus, egg, mustard and dill mayonnaise and fresh bread crumbs

Poach an egg to your liking.

Trim the asparagus and drop them into some boiling water for a few minutes.

Toast the breadcrumbs in a little oil until they are brown and crunchy.

Place the egg on the asparagus, dollop on some sauce, sprinkle with salt and pepper and then the breadcrumbs.
Absolutely delicious.