Asparagus with Egg Mimosa, Butter and Breadcrumbs

I have just had the most glorious two weeks shared with family visiting from South Africa and Singapore. One of the many gifts I received was a cook book by South African journalist, editor and cook Jane-Anne Hobbs titled Scrumptious. It is filled with some beautiful recipes including an exciting version of the very South African bunny chow (keep an eye out for the recipe which I will trial in the coming weeks). 

The first recipe I tried was a variation on what Jane-Anne refers to as a time-tested classic “Asparagus with Egg Mimosa, Butter and Breadcrumbs”.  

Ingredients
3 large free-range eggs
2 slices white bread, a day or two old (I only has fresh white bread so I popped this in the toaster for a minute or so)
48 spears fresh asparagus
250g butter
A big pinch of white pepper (I used black pepper)
1/3 cup fresh parsley - finely chopped 
Salt
Juice of 1 lemon

Method
Hard boil the eggs, peel and set aside.
Crumb the bread in a blender and set aside.
Cut the woody bases off the asparagus spears and steam for 3–5 minutes until tender (but still firm). 
In a frying pan melt the butter, add the breadcrumbs and fry until crunchy.
Put the eggs into a blender and whizz them for a few seconds.
Add the eggs, parsley and salt.
Lay the asparagus spears on a plate and tip the breadcrumb and egg mixture over the top, across the middle. Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve. 

Note this is a variation of Jane-Anne Hobbs’ recipe. The full recipe can be found here: http://www.food24.com/Recipes-and-Menus/Easy-Weekday-Meals/Asparagus-with-egg-mimosa-butter-and-breadcrumbs-20121012

Thank you to Bonny Ritchie and Tammy Holohan for travelling from the other side of the world to spend time with us. Thank you so much to Bonny for giving me the beautiful cook book.

In the picture - Tammy, Bonny, John and our daughter Caitlyn-Jane at Auckland International Airport