Baked asparagus with egg and crispy breadcrumbs

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 kg asparagus, white
• 3 eggs, hard-boiled
• 200 g cooked ham
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp, leveled flour
• 150 ml milk
• 150 ml cooking water
• 50 g cheese, grated
• salt and pepper
• Nutmeg, freshly grated
• some lemon juice
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp breadcrumbs

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Peel the asparagus and cook in salted water with 1 teaspoon of sugar and a knob of butter until just tender. Remove from the broth and set aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan for the sauce. Stir in the flour and deglaze with the cold milk. Then pour in the hot asparagus broth. Bring to a boil and stir in the grated cheese. Season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Cut the cooked ham into strips and the eggs into slices. Place the cooked ham in a buttered baking dish. Arrange the asparagus pieces on top and then cover everything with the cheese sauce. In a small pan, heat the remaining butter with the breadcrumbs until the crumbs are golden yellow. Spread the breadcrumbs over the egg slices. Bake in an oven preheated to 225°C (top/bottom heat) on the second shelf from the bottom for about 10 to 15 minutes. The breadcrumbs crisp up when baked and are wonderfully crispy in the mouth when eaten. Note: You can use cheaper broken asparagus for this.