The Cultural Dish: Asparagus Milanese Recipe

For this weeks #SensationalSides post on the Food Network Blog, FN Dish, we are cooking up a spring produce staple - Asparagus!

Asparagus can be roasted, boiled, grilled, wrapped in bacon, topped with cheese, fried, chopped in sushi and risotto, and prepared a number of other ways! However, if you are looking for something that is simple, yet elegant, and just a little different, than you will want to try this Asparagus Milanese Recipe!

Asparagus Milanese is simply asparagus topped with an egg. So what makes it Milanese? Butter! That's right. Butter. Asparagus is typically prepared with olive oil, but by drizzling it with melted butter and frying the egg in a pool of butter, makes this beautiful dish go from being "asparagus with an egg" to Asparagus Milanese! Sounds a lot fancier, right? Well as fancy as the dish may sound, it can be whipped up in under 10 minutes and ready to serve for dinner, lunch, or brunch!

Asparagus Milanese

Ingredients:
-1 bunch (approx. 1lb) of asparagus, with tough ends snapped off
-4 large eggs
-4 to 6 tablespoons butter, unsalted
-Salt and pepper for seasoning
-Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for sprinkling

Directions:
Fill a medium sized pan with water and bring to a boil (you do not need a giant pot for this). Toss in the asparagus and cook for 4 minutes. Drain the asparagus and divide evenly among four plates (you can cut this recipe down easily). Season with a little salt and pepper and parmaigiano-reggiano, and set aside.

In the same pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter on medium heat. You may end up using the additional two tablespoons of butter if it absorbs quickly or burns up in the heat. It is important to not have your heat too high though so that the eggs can cook evenly. Once the butter has melted, crack the eggs open into the pan and cook until the whites are firm and no longer translucent, but the yolk is still liquid (about 2 - 3 minutes).

Place one egg on top of each asparagus bundle. Sprinkle with a little more cheese if desired and spoon some of the remaining butter atop each asparagus and egg bundle. Serve immediately and enjoy!