SOUTHERN TWIST
TWO MUST-TRY RECIPES JESS DANIELL MAKES AT HER POPULAR AUCKLAND FOODIE HAVEN
A new take on asparagus rolls
ASPARAGUS CHEESE ROLLS
SERVES 6
While shooting this book, photographer Lottie Hedley and I got to talking about comfort foods and how sometimes the simplest things are best. Asparagus rolls came up, obviously, as did Southland’s famous cheese rolls. Which got us thinking – what if we magically combined the two and created a cheesy baked roll with fresh asparagus?
12 asparagus spears
30g butter, plus extra
for buttering bread
30g flour
1 cup milk Salt and pepper
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
½ red onion, finely diced
½ cup tasty cheese, grated
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
12 slices white bread,
crusts removed
1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
2 Trim the asparagus spears so they are slightly longer than the width of the bread.
3 In a small saucepan over a low-medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir briskly for 1 minute until a paste has formed. Gradually add the milk, stirring thoroughly until you have a thick sauce.
4 Season with salt and pepper. Add the mustard, red onion and both cheeses. Remove from the heat.
5 Butter each slice of bread and turn it over. Spread the other side of each slice with the cheese mixture.
6 Place an asparagus spear in the centre of each slice of bread and roll it up on a diagonal. Place the asparagus cheese rolls on the lined oven tray, seam-side down. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cheese mixture is oozing and the bread is golden. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.