Asparagus and bacon in a cheese sauce with potatoes.

Someone on Twitter asked for a recipe for bacon and asparagus. I sent him the above picture and realised I hadn’t posted the recipe as intended. This then made me ask myself why I want to blog about food in the first place. I am not really a cook and not methodical enough to produce prescriptive recipes. There are lots of people who do that; why do I think there is a place for my posts in the blogosphere?

Well I’m just a small voice amongst many who think it is important to talk about using leftovers, getting the most out of ingredients and having the confidence to improvise. Frugal cooking.

I enjoy asparagus but only the young, tender shoots. So this recipe probably comes too late for this season.In fact, instead of calling this a recipe I will call it a serving suggestion.

Place the asparagus upright in a pan of boiling water; the spears just above the water line and cover. This should take a minute or so. Reserve the water.

Line an ovenproof dish with about 6 slices of good quality bacon, and lay the asparagus on top. Use some of the asparagus water with some milk and cheese to make a cheese sauce. I am not an expert on cheese sauce so look one up. It should not be too thick though and use of asparagus water is important here.  Par boil some potatoes in the rest of the asparagus water.

Pour the sauce over the asparagus and bacon. Fold the bacon slices over the asparagus and hold together with cocktail sticks.

Add the potatoes to dish and shove in the oven. It’s ready when it is ready…and delicious..