Asparagus Brunch Bread Recipes

OVERNIGHT ASPARAGUS STRATA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups water to a boil. Add asparagus; cook, uncovered, 2-3 minutes or just until crisp-tender. Drain and immediately drop into ice water. Drain and pat dry., Arrange six English muffin halves in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, cut side up. Trim remaining muffin halves to fill spaces. Layer with 1 cup cheese, asparagus, ham and red pepper. , In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt, mustard and pepper. Pour over top. Refrigerate, covered, overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. Remove strata from refrigerator while oven heats. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

OVERNIGHT ASPARAGUS BREAKFAST CASSEROLE WITH HAM

Steps:

• Rinse asparagus and snap off woody ends of the stems. Cut spears into 1-inch pieces.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add asparagus; cover and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add onion and red pepper. Cook uncovered for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Place bread cubes in a 9x13-inch baking dish coated with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with chopped ham, spoon on the cooked vegetables, and top with 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, basil, salt, and pepper. Pour evenly over bread mixture in baking dish.
• Cover and refrigerate 12-24 hours.
• Bake uncovered at 350℉ for 45-55 minutes, until set and golden brown.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese. Bake for 5-10 minutes more, until cheese is melted.
• Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.
• To break off the woody bottoms of the asparagus stems, just hold onto a spear of asparagus toward the bottom with both your hands. Bend the asparagus spear gently until it snaps. It will naturally snap apart at the best place to separate the woody end and tender tip. Or, just cut the spears with a knife, cutting where the green color fades if you'd prefer.
• If the asparagus is young and thin, you just need to trim off the very bottom of the spears -- no need to snap the spears because there's really no thick, woody part to them yet.
• I sometimes use a mixture of Swiss and Monterey Jack cheese, or a mixture of Swiss and mozzarella.
• It's important for this casserole to sit refrigerated for at least 12 hours. This allows the bread cubes to absorb the egg/milk mixture, and creates the casserole's fluffy texture when baked. I don't recommend short-cutting this step.

CHEESY HAM AND ASPARAGUS BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Mix the ham, onion, red bell peppers, and asparagus in the prepared baking dish. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, flour, Parmesan, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Pour over the ham mixture.
• Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Continue baking 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

ASPARAGUS BRUNCH BREAD

Steps:

• Holding each asparagus spear at base and halfway up stalk, bend just until stalk snaps at natural breaking point. Pour water into large skillet to depth of 1 inch (2.5 cm); bring to boil. Arrange spears in 2 layers in water. Cover and cook for 2 minutes or until bright green and still crisp. Drain; chill under cold water. Drain; set aside on towels.
• Cut ham Into 1/4-inch (5 mm) wide strips; cut into about 1 -inch (2.5 cm) lengths to make strips. Thin end from green onion; halve stalk lengthwise and slice thinly crosswise. Set aside.
• In large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and butter; pour over flour mixture. Sprinkle with green onion and 3/4 cup (175 mL) of the cheese; stir with wooden spoon just until smooth.
• Spoon half of the batter into greased 9-inch (2.5 L) square cake pan, spreading over bottom. Arrange half of the asparagus in single layer over top. Sprinkle with ham.
• Spoon in remaining batter, spreading evenly. Arrange remaining asparagus over top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown and cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes.
• Invert wire rack over pan. Holding both tightly together, invert pan to turn bread out onto rack. Remove pan. Invert serving platter onto bread. Holding rack and platter together, quickly invert. Remove rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Bread can be cooled, covered with plastic wrap and set aside for up to 4 hours.).

ASPARAGUS CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat Oven to 400˚F with the rack in the center. Butter a 9x13 casserole dish. Arrange trimmed asparagus in prepared casserole dish, packing it down for a fairly flat and even surface.
• Place a saucepan over medium heat. Melt in 3 Tbsp butter then add 2 1/2 Tbsp flour and whisk constantly for 3 minutes or until butter just starts to turn golden in color. Whisk in 2 cups half and half, 2 tsp garlic salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Whisk until sauce just starts to thicken then remove from heat. Sprinkle in 1/2 cup parmesan and whisk until cheese is melted and incorporated.
• Pour sauce evenly over the asparagus, leaving about 1" space on the long sides of the casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 400˚F for 15-18 minutes (depending on thickness of asparagus), or until asparagus reaches desired tenderness.
• While the casserole is baking, make the topping: in a small mixing bowl, melt 1 Tbsp butter. Mix in 1/2 cup bread crumbs, stirring until evenly moistened, then stir in 1/2 cup remaining parmesan cheese. Halfway through baking, sprinkle the bread crumb topping evenly over the casserole then return it to the oven to finish baking.
• When asparagus has reached desired doneness, set oven to broil for 2-3 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown. Remove from oven and serve.

HAM, ASPARAGUS, AND CHEESE STRATA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling. Add asparagus; cook 5 minutes or until bright green.
• In a greased 3-quart baking dish spread half the bread cubes. Top with cheese, onion, chives and half the ham and asparagus. Top with remaining bread.
• In a bowl whisk together four of the eggs and the milk. Evenly pour over layers in dish. Press down bread pieces into the egg milk mixture with the back of a spoon. Top with remaining ham and asparagus. Cover with plastic wrap, then chill for two hours.
• Bake, uncovered, in a 325 degrees F oven 30 minutes. With the back of a wooden spoon, press 6 indentations in top of strata. Pour a whole egg into each indentation. Bake 20 to 25 minutes more or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of strata registers 170 degrees F and eggs are set. Let stand 15 minutes.
• Cut into squares to serve. If desired, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

ASPARAGUS BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Melt butter and swirl to cover bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch pan.
• Spread potatoes (still frozen is okay) in bottom of pan.
• Top with chopped onions, ham and asparagus.
• Salt and pepper slightly.
• Sprinkle 1 cup swiss cheese on top.
• At this point you can continue or casserole may be refrigerated overnight.
• Pour beaten eggs over hash browns & vegetables.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 Swiss cheese and return to oven for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING WITH ASPARAGUS, GRUYèRE, AND FINES HERBES

Steps:

• Place bread on 2 large baking sheets. Let stand uncovered overnight to dry out.
• Cook asparagus in medium pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold running water to cool. Drain well.
• Whisk eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Mix cheeses and herbs in medium bowl. Place half of bread in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle with half of asparagus, then half of cheese mixture. Pour half of egg mixture over. Repeat with remaining bread, asparagus, cheese mixture, and egg mixture. Let stand 20 minutes, pressing with spatula to submerge bread pieces.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake bread pudding until brown and puffed, about 45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.