Dishin’ With Denise… Easter Praise… & Asparagus Polonaise

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Denise Gianatasio is a Northport Village resident and freelance writer. 
She is a licensed agent at Signature Premier Properties, 172 Main Street, Northport 631-754-3600 ext. 577. Denise enjoys cooking and sharing her recipes and family stories, as she wants to inspire a warm sense of home with her readers. Please feel free to contact her for any advice you may 
need at dishinwithdenise@yahoo.com.

This Easter whether you are serving lamb, ham or yam, nothing looks greener and more festive than those fresh, long, green stems of asparagus. This is a simple yet delicious way to dress your plate for Easter’s finest.  Here’s a burst of spring, topped with crumbled Easter~eggs and toasted bread crumbs, each  ingredient symbolically significant to Easter traditions, as well as creating an elegant presentation and compliment to your Easter meal celebration. Those delicious spears are abundant and commonplace at your local markets during the season.  Once in hand~the question is: how to cook them? The most flavorful way is oven roasted with a sprinkle of olive oil, or steamed properly.  Carefully one by one, snap the bottom stem at its lowest breaking point~ this removes the tough ends. Rinse in colander, and place in steamer with a small amount of boiling water covered for 3 minutes. Drain, arrange on platter and dress with delicious polonaise Easter topping. Hollandaise is ordinary but polonaise is extraordinary!  My favorite! Fresh steamed greens, dressed with hard boiled eggs crumbled, sprinkled with toasted bread crumbs and grated cheese and chopped fine fresh herbs. Have a blessed Easter with a beautiful celebration.

2 bundles of fresh asparagus 
    (hint: thinner spears are younger and tender, thicker spears were left to grow longer, a bit tougher and more potent of flavor)
3 hard ~ boiled eggs, crumbled
1T butter
¼ cup olive oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
2 T fresh chopped chives 
½ t fresh ground pepper
½ t sea salt
1 T grated Pecorino Romano cheese
¾ cup flavored bread crumbs 
Zest of lemon

In a sauté pan heat butter and olive oil over med heat, add bread crumbs and stir often until golden (approx. 7 minutes), remove from heat. Add fresh and dry herbs, mix together. Arrange crumbs and crumbled eggs atop steamed asparagus. Add some zest… now rest!  Fini!   

Xoxo Buona Pasqua!  
XO Denise