Ok, so I know what you’re thinking – asparagus casserole does not sound like the kind of thing you want to tuck into right now.  You need to trust me on this one – it’s really delicious. Nana used to roll this out as a side dish whenever there was a gang to feed. It is a fantastic accompaniment to cooked meat and potato dishes, as it provides a delicious sauce which is very complimentary. We had it recently on Easter Sunday with a glazed ham and a pukekohe potato pie. Yum!

It is super easy to make, and also very economical. Interestingly this the only dish where I favour the result of the tinned vegetable over the fresh – which is great as it means you can make it at any time of the year and it is also very economical.

As a side dish this recipe will easily serve 8 – 10 (you can half the recipe if you need to)

Ingredients:

• 2 x 425g tins of asparagus (gently separate the spears from the liquid, retain the liquid for the sauce. You should get around 400ml of liquid from 2 tins)
•  4 eggs (hard boiled)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Turn on the oven to 180 degrees.

Hard boil the eggs, run under cold water, peel and set aside.

Melt the butter over a low heat in a medium sized sauce pan. Stir in the flour and mix together (still on a low heat) to create a roux. Using a whisk, add the asparagus liquid. Keep whisking until you have a smooth sauce, it will thicken. Whisk in the parmesan cheese. You want a thick sauce, but if it gets too thick to pour simply add a little milk. Taste for seasoning, you may want to add some salt and pepper.

Place the asparagus into a casserole dish, covering the base. Cut the eggs in half length ways and place yolk side down evenly on top of the asparagus.

Cover with the sauce. You can top with breadcrumbs, or if you are naughty (as Nana would say) crumble over some potato chips.

Bake for 20 minutes until bubbling.