White Asparagus & Ham Gratin

This bunch of lovely white asparagus is given by my mother-in-law :D I've seen this vegetable in supermarket, about S$12/kg, but I've never purchase before so not to mention cooking it :D Not wanting to ruin it, I googled on the methods to cook this white asparagus :D

The texture of the white asparagus turned out very tender and sweet in this cheesy and luxurious cream sauce, even my kids cannot get enough of it! 

Recipe source : Food&Wine.com

Ingredient

• 500gm fat white asparagus, peeled & peels reserved
• 45gm unsalted butter
• 2.5 tbsp flour
• pinch of nutmeg
• pepper & salt to taste
• 3 slices honey baked ham
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Method

1. Bring 5 cups water to boil. Add asparagus peels and salt and asparagus bundles and cook over high heat for 12 mins until tender.
2. Spoon out the asparagus and pat dry. Strain the broth and reserve 3/4 cup of the liquid.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook over medium heat for 1 min, stirring frequently. Add in asparagus broth and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Season the sauce with salt, pepper & nutmeg.
4. Roll a slice of ham around 5 sticks of asparagus and place in a baking dish. Pour the sauce over. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake the gratin over preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 25mins, until the cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.

I am submitting this post to the the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and  Doreen from My Little Favourite DIY , hosted by lice from I Love.ICook.IBake