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Thelma Tate's Asparagus Casserole
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Southern Recipe Restoration Project
The contributor: Katrina Lewis, a schoolteacher who lives in Knoxville. The recipe was prepared by her grandmother, the late Thelma Tate, who lived in Knoxville but was an Elberton native.
The story: "My grandmother and my mother were the cooks in the family. I just shared the eating part. They tried to teach me to cook but I just wasn't all that interested. But my grandmother did teach me to garden. ...
"My grandmother and I could work together in the garden out in the backyard all day. We had sweet potatoes, zucchini, green beans, onions, peas, tomatoes, peppers and all kinds of flowers. But the one thing she didn't grow was asparagus, and she used that to make one of her best recipes, and that was an asparagus casserole."
Cookbook author and chef Virginia Willis comments that this would have definitely been "company food" and not your ordinary casserole. Recipe tasters all agreed this was a comfort food smash hit --- the marriage of soft canned asparagus (not remotely resembling fresh in taste or texture), topped with hard-cooked egg and smothered in cheese sauce is essentially adult pablum, and deliciously so.
Hands on time: 20 minutes Total time: 50 minutes Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients:
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6 eggs
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 (19-ounce) cans asparagus, drained
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add water to cover eggs by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once at a boil, cover and remove from heat. Set aside for 10 minutes. Drain and chill under cold running water. Peel and slice eggs. Set aside.
Combine the water and flour in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Place the milk in a medium saucepan. Add the water-flour mixture to the milk and stir to combine. Turn the heat to medium high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 7 minutes. Add cheese and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.
In a large casserole dish, place one layer of asparagus. Top with 3 sliced eggs. Pour half the cheese sauce over eggs and asparagus. Top with another layer of asparagus and remaining sliced eggs. Pour remaining sauce over this layer. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the mixture. Dot top with butter. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
Combine the water and flour in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Place the milk in a medium saucepan. Add the water-flour mixture to the milk and stir to combine. Turn the heat to medium high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 7 minutes. Add cheese and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.
In a large casserole dish, place one layer of asparagus. Top with 3 sliced eggs. Pour half the cheese sauce over eggs and asparagus. Top with another layer of asparagus and remaining sliced eggs. Pour remaining sauce over this layer. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the mixture. Dot top with butter. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
Nutrition:
Per serving (based on 4): 419 calories (percent of calories from fat, 62), 24 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 29 grams fat (17 grams saturated), 93 milligrams cholesterol, 254 milligrams sodium.
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