Recipe: Texel asparagus spears with lamb ham and sheep cheese

Have you tried Texel’s ‘white gold’ yet? The first crop of asparagus is harvested on the island in about mid April every year.

Prepare to be surprised by this delicious recipe for oven-prepared Texel asparagus spears with lamb ham and sheep cheese.

Ingredients for four people:

16 medium-thick asparagus spears; four per person - or two if the spears are big
4 to 8 thin strips or slices of cooked lamb ham
80 g grated sheep cheese
50 g butter
Salt and pepper
Parsley or young thyme
Baking paper

How to prepare this recipe:

Start by peeling the asparagus spears, or buy them peeled from the farm (Keijser aardappelen & asperges). Next, divide them evenly across the baking paper. Having done this, arrange the lamb ham and sheep cheese on top of the asparagus spears. Season with a little salt and pepper and add a knob of butter. Finally, fold the ingredients into separate little parcels and cook them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

This article was made possible in part by Annette van Ruitenburg, author of the De Smaak van Texel cookbook.