These easy white asparagus crêpes the perfect way to celebrate Spargelzeit, Germany's 5th season of the year when everything screams Spargel. They are rolled up herbed crêpes are stuffed with smoked ham, white asparagus and a delicious chive crème fraîche sauce. They're easy enough to whip up on a week night, and special enough to make for mom on Mother's Day. Just so good!
Spargel is Everywhere!
White asparagus season is upon us and restaurants all over Germany started putting out their menu boards celebrating this spring vegetable that is only available for a short 2 months.
While white asparagus is not nearly as popular in the United States as it is in Germany (simply because it's not typically grown here), it’s still one of my favorites for a good reason! And don't we always want those things that are hardest to get!
White Asparagus Versus Green Asparagus
Like Christie from A Sausage Has Two said in our little Spargel live chat for my new series 'Coffee with Deutschland', white asparagus is worth exploring, especially for people who don't generally love asparagus.
Growing it underground and harvesting it before it reaches the surface, helps keep the taste mild. It's not bitter (it's cooked with just a bit of sugar to counteract any leftover bitterness) and it almost has lobster-like, slightly sweet qualities.
The spears are also thicker and more fibrous, which is why you have to discard the bottom ends. Christie recommends trimming off thin slices until you see droplets of water coming out. I then peel the bottom ⅔ of each spears before cooking in water with a pinch of sugar and some salt.
I know this sounds like a lot of extra work considering you can just cook the green kind as is, but it’s definitely worth it!
A New Take On White Asparagus
Typically rolled in slices of ham and served with hollandaise and potatoes, today's recipe is quite a bit different from the traditional way to serve this 'white gold.' A parsley crêpe to hold the cooked, white asparagus spears, ham, and a chive crème fraîche sauce was the answer, and the results are stunning and so tasty!
Bookmark and make this recipe now and let me know what you think in the comments below. And if you love German cooking and baking as much as I do, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE.
More white asparagus recipes to try
Also check out my curated list of my top 7 favorite Spargel recipes!
Easy White Asparagus Crêpes
Ingredients
Crêpe Batter
Sauce
- 200 grams crème fraîche or sour cream as an alternative
- ½ lemon juice only
- 3 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Wash and dry the asparagus. Cut off the “woody” ends and peel from the tip down.2 pounds white asparagus
- In a small bowl, combine crème fraîche, chives and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.200 grams crème fraîche, ½ lemon, 3 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, salt and pepper
- Fill a large pot about 2 inches high with water. Bring water to a boil.
- Add the peeled asparagus, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let simmer for about 10 minutes or until the asparagus is soft.2 pounds white asparagus, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
- Drain the asparagus and cover to keep warm.
- For the crêpe batter, In a medium sized bowl, add milk, pinch of salt and sugar. Whisk in the eggs and then slowly add the flour and whisk until it’s a smooth batter.250 milliliters milk, 2 eggs, 1 pinch sugar, 125 grams flour
- Melt the butter in a large sauté pan (or crêpe pan if you have one), then pour the melted butter into the crêpe batter and mix together.25 grams butter
- Stir the chopped parsley in with the batter.2 tablespoon chopped, fresh parsley
- Heat the pan to medium, add a ladle full of batter and tilt the pan to distribute the batter evenly.
- When you are able to loosen the pancake on the bottom, turn it over using a spatula. Bake until light golden.
- Repeat until there is no batter left.
- To assemble your Spargel crêpes, spread some of the crème fraîche mixture onto a crêpe. Roll up 2 to 3 asparagus spears in 2 slices of ham. Then place that roll on the crêpe and roll up the crêpe. Garnish with more crème fraîche and parsley leaves.12 slices ham
Nicolette
Thanks for the new Pfannkuchen recipe today! I don't need much of an excuse to make white asparagus so I caved and stopped by Whole Foods on the way home. It was a win win....white asparagus for me and (crepes with meat for the husband!)
dirndlkitchen
Aww you're so welcome! Did you like the recipe? I loooove white asparagus! Which other meals have you made using white asparagus?
Tasha
Excellent, love it!!!
dirndlkitchen
I am glad you love my white asparagus crepes!! They're so good and I am so hungry now and need to make them again!! 🙂