I always look forward to springtime for one of my favorite vegetables – asparagus. It wasn’t always a favorite, however.
My mom used to have an asparagus patch alongside one side of the fence that surrounded the garden. Those ferny-looking shoots would pop out of the ground each spring, long before anything was even planted in the garden itself. Mom was very careful to keep the soil in the patch just perfect for growing asparagus. Never using fertilizer, she added soil from the barnyard to the asparagus every winter. She grew a lot of asparagus, so we ate a lot of it in the spring since we didn’t have a freezer then to store some away.
When you get too much of a good thing, it’s easy to grow tired of it, which I did back then. But, what I wouldn’t give for that patch now!
With the Lent season upon us, many cooks are looking for meatless dishes or casseroles to serve for dinner. The following recipe pairs fresh or frozen asparagus with crabmeat to make a delicious casserole. It’s great as a main dish or can be used as a side with your favorite fried fish or shrimp.
CRAB ASPARAGUS DELIGHT
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup water
1 (12-ounce) package frozen asparagus pieces, thawed and well-drained
1 (6-ounce) can crabmeat, rinsed and drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
Black pepper to taste
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, chilled
1 1/2 cups milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-by-8-inch baking dish (or a 10-inch pie plate).
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes or until translucent. Transfer to plate to cool.
Layer crabmeat, asparagus and cooled onion in prepared dish; top with cheeses. Season with pepper.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. With pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and eggs; pour over crabmeat mixture and cheeses.
Bake 25 minutes or until topping is puffy and golden brown and knife inserted comes out clean. Serve hot.
Note: I use about a pound of fresh asparagus and cut the hard ends off (about 2-inches from the bottom.) Then I cut the bunch that’s left into thirds and par-boil them about 5-10 minutes before using in this recipe.
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