WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS A cheesy, light-and-crisp coating makes asparagus irresistible, so naturally you want it to stay put when you’re eating the asparagus. So, we first salted the spears to rid them of excess moisture. Then we whipped a combination of honey and egg whites to soft peaks, dipped the asparagus spears in the clingy mixture, and coated them with a mixture of bread crumbs and Parmesan. We sprinkled the spears with more cheese at the end of roasting. Look for asparagus spears between ½ and ¾ inch in diameter. Work quickly when tossing the asparagus with the egg whites, as the salt on the asparagus will rapidly begin to deflate the whites.
Serves 4 to 6
TOTAL TIME: 50 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 2 pounds thick asparagus, trimmed
- Salt and pepper
- 3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1½ cups)
- ¾ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon honey
INSTRUCTIONS
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray. Using fork, poke holes up and down asparagus spears. Toss asparagus with ½ teaspoon salt and let sit for 30 minutes on paper towel–lined baking sheet.
- Meanwhile, combine 1 cup Parmesan, panko, melted butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper, and cayenne in bowl. Transfer half of panko mixture to shallow dish; set aside remaining panko mixture. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and honey on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape into 13 by 9-inch baking dish and toss asparagus in mixture. Working with 1 spear at a time, dredge half of asparagus in panko and transfer to prepared sheet. Refill shallow dish with remaining panko mixture and repeat with remaining half of asparagus.
- Bake asparagus until just beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup Parmesan and continue to bake until cheese is melted, panko is golden brown, and tip of paring knife inserted at base of largest spear meets little resistance, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to platter. Serve.
