Asparagus Alla Fontina
Updated December 12, 2022
Tom Schierlitz for The New York Times; Food Stylist: Brian Preston-Campbell
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
Salt
2 ½ pounds thin asparagus, trimmed and washed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
⅓ cup grated Gruyère (see note)
¾ cup finely minced or slivered prosciutto
2 tablespoons minced parsley
3 eggs, beaten
3 to 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
10 grams carbs; 124 milligrams cholesterol; 238 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 625 milligrams sodium; 16 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender. Drain and cut into 1-to-1½-inch lengths. Return the asparagus to the pot. Add the butter and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set over low heat and stir to melt the butter. Remove from the heat.
- Step 2
Turn the asparagus and the melted butter into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Arrange in an even layer. Sprinkle with the Gruyère, prosciutto and parsley. Pour the beaten eggs on top, gently shaking the pan to distribute.
- Step 3
Top with the Parmesan and bake until the eggs are set into a custard and a golden-brown crust forms on top, about 35 minutes. Serve hot or warm.
You may use fontina in place of the Gruyère.
Private Notes
Comments
Hard to believe you'd want or need that much asparagus for this recipe. I used maybe 1/2 lb. and it looked about the same as the photo accompanying this recipe. I think someone goofed on the amount of asparagus.
Also, if you cook even to crisp-tender stage before baking, the asparagus has to be overcooked after cooking another 35 minutes. Mine was. My advice: skip cooking the asparagus in water. The asparagus will be cooked after baking 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
Very nice. I did not precook the asparagus and added a little milk to the eggs thanks to previous commenters. I used Fontina which brings me a to puzzling question. Why is a recipe that is called "Asparagus Alla Fontina" made with Gruyère while Fontina is only mentioned in the "tip"?
Just cooked this and was disappointed. Way too much asparagus needed. I used half. Where were the onions? I added sliced green onions. Flavor was good but there is no way all that asparagus could fit in a pie pan. Came out a bit dry and not great.
I like the recipe as a starting point , but like others adapted it. I added an egg, decreased the asparagus to 1/2 lb, added a 1/2 cup of cream to make it more of a custard (deleted the 4 tab of butter) added a 3tab of finely chopped purple onion (what j had on hand). Finally, I added lemon zest to peak the flavor of the asparagus. The meal was delightful and creamy. I did not cook the vegetables. Yes 30 minutes is ample to cook the asparagus (mine was thin).
A few amendments … since my wife doesn’t eat ham, I substituted a veggie sausage. I thought it was great. She said use prosciutto next time! We had one store bunch of asparagus (didn’t weigh it) and that was fine. And used 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 of butter. But Otherwise, per recipe, and it was just great IMO. Thank you!
Great recipe! I use less asparagus, fontina, and add potato. Peel 1 small-medium russet, slice 1/2" crosswise, blanch 5 min, then transfer to dish. Top with asparagus, butter, etc. per recipe. Additional butter is not necessary.