Asparagus Custards

This is a yummy and interesting side dish.  It is a savory egg custard with asparagus!  I loved making these, and we loved eating them even more!  Asparagus is one vegetable you may buy un-organic, it has a very low pesticide load.  I used larger creme brulee glass ramekins, so mine made only 5. Optional: reserve 6 asparagus heads to garnish the top like in my picture.

Asparagus Custards
1 bunch asparagus
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon butter, soft
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 eggs
vegetable steamer
roasting pan or casserole dish
whisk
6 ramekins

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Grease ramekins with butter. Wash & trim asparagus- my method is to rinse, then grab bottom of stalk with my thumb and forefinger and snap it off. That way, it automatically snaps off the hard part of each one, which varies. Steam in vegetable steamer for 6 - 8 minutes until color turns bright and stalks are soft enough to give to an inserted fork, but still firm.  Don't overcook, you don't want them to be mush, you want them to hold their shape.  Cool, cut the heads off, and cut the stems into 1/2 inch pieces.  In a food processor, mix asparagus stems, cream, butter, thyme, oregano, s&p, and parmesan and process until the stems are all mixed in- as smooth as possible. Scrape out mixture into a bowl and whisk the eggs in.
Divide up your asparagus heads among all the ramekins, then pour the mixture on top of them all evenly.  Place ramekins inside a roasting pan and pour water (using a cup or measuring cup) in around the ramekins until about 1/4 of the way up the side of ramekin.  Bake for about 35-45 minutes, until custard is set. Serves 6.