Asparagus Cheese Rolls

While shooting this book, Lottie and I got to talking about comfort foods and how sometimes the simplest things are best. Asparagus rolls came up, obviously, as did Southland’s famous cheese rolls. Which got us thinking — what if we magically combined the two and created a cheesy baked roll with fresh asparagus? #Teamwork.

Makes: 6 as an entrée
Takes: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
12 asparagus spears
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
30g butter plus extra for buttering bread
30g flour
1 cup milk
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
½ red onion, finely diced
½ cup Tasty cheese, grated
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt & pepper

Method: Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Trim asparagus spears so they are slightly longer than the width of the bread. In a small saucepan over a low-medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and stir briskly for 1 minute until a paste has formed. Gradually add milk, stirring thoroughly until you have a thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Add mustard, red onion and both cheeses. Remove from the heat. Butter each slice of bread and turn it over. Spread the other side of each slice with the cheese mixture. Place an asparagus spear in the centre of each slice of bread and roll it up on a diagonal. Place the asparagus cheese rolls on the lined oven tray, seam-side down. Bake for 10–12 minutes until the cheese mixture is oozing and the bread is golden. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.