Farm to Table: Cheesy Asparagus

It’s our favorite time of the year – asparagus season! Grocery store asparagus really can’t compare to the farm fresh asparagus grown here in the Hudson Valley. We look forward to these few weeks of the year where asparagus is readily available at the local farmer’s markets and farm stands. In past years, we’ve made soup, a classic lemon-garlic asparagus, and even an entire meal featuring asparagus! Since we’re always looking for more ways to enjoy asparagus, we looked for a recipe that evoked a sense of coziness while celebrating spring.

We based our recipe on this Asparagus Casserole from Natasha’s Kitchen. The word “casserole” does this dish no justice! The bechamel and crunchy topping really make it more like a play on mac-n-cheese. The asparagus retains a bit of crunch because it’s roasted. We made sure that the sauce was nice and thick and we may have added a bit of extra cheese in both the sauce and in the topping.

Crispy greens, creamy cheesy topping…this is a perfect side dish but I’d eat it again as an entire meal!

Ingredients

Asparagus around 2 pounds
4 tbsp of unsalted butter
2 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups of half-and-half
2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup (plus some extra!) parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

Directions

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9×13 dish and arrange your trimmed asparagus, making sure it is flat and even.

Next, we’ll make a bechamel sauce. Don’t let this scare you – Bechamel is actually pretty easy to make. The key is consistent whisking! Start by melting 3 tbsp of the butter in the saucepan. Once melted, add your flour and whisk constantly until the butter and flour mixture turns golden in color – this usually takes about three minutes.

Whisk in the half and half, garlic salt, and black pepper.

Continuing whisking until the sauce begins to thicken – you want it to be rich and creamy!

Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in half of your parmesan. Whisk until the cheese has melted.

Pour your sauce over the asparagus and bake uncovered for 15-18 minutes, or until asparagus is cooked to your liking.

While the asparagus cooks, mix up the topping. Melt the remaining butter and mix in the bread crumbs until evenly moist. Stir in the remainder of your parmesan. Once the asparagus is halfway cooked, sprinkle the topping on top of the sauce and return it to the oven.