In the 1720s, the Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Piazzetta decided to paint a version of the Supper at Emmaus, an episode from the Gospel according to Saint Luke. In the story, the newly risen Christ appears to two disciples on the road from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus. The story takes place on Easter Sunday evening and in order to show this Piazzetta decided to depict food which was in season in the Veneto at that time. And so, sitting on the table in front of Jesus is a pile of delicious looking white asparagus. You can see a photograph of the painting here.
White asparagus is found all over the Veneto, most notably from the area around Bassano del Grappa. It differs from green asparagus in that it’s picked before the shoots are allowed to come above ground, hence the white colour caused through lack of chlorophyll.
To prepare white asparagus, you should remove the hard ends. You do this by holding a piece of asparagus in both hands, and then lightly pressing with your thumbs until it snaps naturally. Throw the piece from the root away and keep the rest. You should also peel the outer layers of skin off with a potato peeler, since these can be quite tough with cellulose.
In the Veneto, these asparagus (or sparasi in Venetian) are served with a sauce of eggs, vinegar, and olive oil. As in the recipe below, anchovies and capers are often added to the sauce instead of salt. This makes a great light lunch or a starter. If you can’t get white asparagus this dish is just as good with green.
Buon appetito!
Sparasi alla Veneta
lll
Serves: 4 as a starter
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
lll
Ingredients
16 white asparagus spears
4 eggs, hardboiled and shelled
8 anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
200 ml extra virgin olive oil
black pepper
lll
Method
- Place the white asparagus (prepared as above) in a steamer and cook for ten to fifteen minutes.
- In the meantime, place the eggs, anchovy fillets and capers in a food processor and whizz until all combined.
- With the mixer going, add the vinegar and olive oil slowly until it has been incorporated.
- When the asparagus is cooked, serve immediately with the sauce.
Hi Luca! Funny you published this as I was just talking to friends about white asparagus. I lived in Germany for 6 years where it is practically a religion! And I miss it! I have not seen any in Umbria, sad to say. Do you know if they export it from the Veneto to other parts of Italy? I’d love to make some!
I managed to find some here in Tuscany (right on the Umbrian border). I am sure that if you look in some of the larger supermarkets they will have some in.
There should be some radicchio in that painting also! And bruscandoli. 🙂
Definitely bruscandoli … mmmmmm 🙂
What a lovely recipe. I had white asparagus for the first time many years ago when I lived in Spain, and it was usually served as a tapa with a mayonnaise sauce. Quite delicious with a cold beer or glass of wine as an afternoon snack. This recipe brings back some very happy memories of that time. Thank you for yet another marvelous post.
Always so informative on the background behind dishes, etc. Interesting sauce on the asparagus. I’ll have to try it some time.