Chef Juliette
Suet Dumpling
Boulettes au suif, poached beside salt beef, turn equal weights of flour and finely chopped suet into tender, rich dumplings. Keep the beef liquor at a bare tremble and the old garnish works beautifully at home.
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Asperges à la Milanaise
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2041, Asperges à la Milanaise, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Asperges à la Milanaise turns four plain ingredients into a lesson in timing: tender asparagus, Parmesan, and beurre noisette, glazed only until the cheese catches and the butter gleams.
Side Dishes
French
Easter
Dinner Party
Quick Meal
15 min
Active Time
15 min cook•30 min total
Yield4 servings
Asperges à la Milanaise (asparagus glazed with Parmesan and butter) teaches readiness. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is that beurre noisette (hazelnut-browned butter) waits for no one. The asparagus must be cooked, thoroughly dried, arranged with its cheese, and waiting beneath a hot broiler before the butter begins.
The book's entry assumes hot asparagus arriving well drained from the vegetable station, a saucier free to brown the butter at the last instant, and a salamander, the brigade's fierce overhead grill, ready to glaze the cheese. At home, a wide pot, a small pale skillet, and a household broiler do the same work for four. The station handoffs and brigade scale are scaffolding and can go; the draining, successive Parmesan-dusted rows, copious butter, and slight glaze are the dish and stay. No stock is called for, so none is invented. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When it is right, the asparagus stays green and supple beneath ivory-gold Parmesan, with butter pooling around the heads and smelling of toasted nuts. Take the butter to hazelnut brown and no farther. That is the step that decides the plate.
In French classical nomenclature, à la Milanaise is an appellation borrowed from Milan, used here to signal Parmesan and butter rather than a French regional larder. The preparation passed easily from the grand kitchen to the cuisine bourgeoise because its equipment is modest and its effect generous: cooked asparagus, a buttered dish, and fierce overhead heat. Unlike the breaded cutlet associated with the same adjective, these asparagus take no crumbs; Parmesan and beurre noisette make the slight glaze.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
medium green asparagus
Quantity
2 bunches, about 2 pounds (900 g)
woody ends trimmed and lower stalks peeled if fibrous
Parmesan
Quantity
3/4 cup (180 ml / 65 g)
finely grated
unsalted butter
Quantity
6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g)
divided
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g)
for the blanching water
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| medium green asparaguswoody ends trimmed and lower stalks peeled if fibrous | 2 bunches, about 2 pounds (900 g) |
| Parmesanfinely grated | 3/4 cup (180 ml / 65 g) |
| unsalted butterdivided | 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g) |
| fine sea saltfor the blanching water | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide 5-quart (4.7-liter) pot or sauté pan
- •14-inch (35 cm) heatproof oval gratin dish
- •Small light-colored skillet
- •Colander and clean kitchen towels
- •Fine-mesh strainer and heatproof cup
Instructions
- 1
Ready the glaze
Set an oven rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below the broiler and heat the broiler fully. Butter a 14-inch (35 cm) heatproof oval gratin dish with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of the butter, reaching into the corners, then scatter 2 tablespoons (30 ml / about 10 g) of the Parmesan across the bottom. Have the remaining cheese, a small light-colored skillet, and a cool heatproof cup beside the stove. Once the butter starts browning, there is no time to hunt for equipment.
- 2
Trim the asparagus
Cut away the dry woody ends so the spears fit comfortably inside the dish. If the lower stalks feel tough beneath a fingernail, peel their bottom third with a vegetable peeler; leave tender medium stalks alone. Rinse the asparagus without soaking it.
- 3
Blanch until tender
Bring a wide pot of water to a full boil and add the salt. Lower in the asparagus, keeping the tips facing the same direction so they are easy to lift, and cook until a knife enters the thick end with slight resistance, about 4 to 6 minutes after the water returns to the boil. A stalk should bend without collapsing. If the boil dies under the quantity, cook in two batches; crowding gives you grey tips and uneven stalks.
Test the stalk end, not the delicate tip. When the stalk is tender, the tip has already had enough. - 4
Drain completely
Lift the asparagus into a colander, let it drain for a full minute, then spread the spears on clean kitchen towels and blot them carefully. Be thorough. Water trapped between the spears dilutes the butter, washes away the Parmesan, and prevents the slight glaze this dish requires. If the towels become wet beneath them, move the spears to a dry patch and blot again.
- 5
Arrange the rows
While the asparagus is still warm, arrange it in two or three successive, slightly overlapping rows in the buttered dish. Keep the tips pointing in the same direction and begin each row a little lower than the one before it, leaving every band of heads visible. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan copiously over the heads of each row, with only a light dusting down the stalks.
- 6
Brown the butter
Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons (75 ml / 71 g) butter in the light-colored skillet over medium heat. Let it foam, swirling the pan often; as the foam thins, watch the milk solids on the bottom turn from pale gold to the warm brown of a hazelnut and smell for toasted nuts. Pull the pan immediately. If the color starts racing, lift it from the heat and decant through a fine-mesh strainer into the cool cup. Ça se rattrape. Black flecks and an acrid smell mean it has burned, and the only honest answer is to begin again with fresh butter.
A pale metal pan lets you see the milk solids clearly. In a dark pan, the difference between noisette and burned is hidden until you smell the mistake. - 7
Glaze very lightly
Pour the beurre noisette at once and copiously over the Parmesan-covered heads, letting the rest run between the rows. Set the dish beneath the broiler for 30 to 90 seconds, watching without interruption, until the cheese fuses into a delicate ivory-gold glaze and the butter bubbles at the edges. Do not chase a dark crust. If one side colors first, rotate the dish rather than leaving the asparagus under longer. Carry it straight to the table in its dish. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose medium spears with closed tips and freshly cut ends. Pencil-thin asparagus overcooks before the cheese glazes, while very thick stalks need enough peeling and boiling to turn this quick dish into another proposition.
- •Grate the Parmesan finely from a wedge. The book asks for grated cheese almost as a powder because it must melt during a very brief glaze; coarse shreds remain stringy, and pre-grated cheese often stays dusty.
- •This preparation needs fresh asparagus with enough structure to survive blanching and the broiler. Frozen or preserved spears release too much water for this exact treatment. If the market asparagus is limp, change the side dish, not the standard.
- •Serve immediately beside roast lamb, baked ham, or simply soft-cooked eggs and bread. A mineral white from the Mâconnais meets the Parmesan and nutty butter without bullying the asparagus.
Advance Preparation
- •The asparagus may be trimmed and peeled up to 6 hours ahead. Wrap the prepared spears in a lightly damp towel and keep them cold; grate the Parmesan and butter the dish at the same time.
- •For dinner-party service, blanch the asparagus up to 2 hours ahead, cool it briefly in iced water, then drain and dry it completely before refrigerating it on a towel. Bring it out 20 minutes before finishing so the brief glaze is not asked to heat refrigerator-cold stalks.
- •Do not brown the butter or assemble the Parmesan layers ahead. Those final five minutes are the dish, and the finished glaze waits poorly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 225g)
Calories
260 calories
Total Fat
22 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
60 mg
Sodium
390 mg
Total Carbohydrates
10 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
9 g
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