Asparagus spears with pea purée, herb ham & toasted farmhouse bread

Serves 4

For the Pea Purée
30 g onion, finely diced
2 tbsp butter
300 g peas
120 ml cream
Salt, pepper, grated Parmesan cheese

For the asparagus
1 kg white asparagus
2 l water
1 tsp butter
1 pinch of sugar
2 tbsp white wine
salt

For the farmhouse bread
"Dampfl" (50 ml lukewarm water mixed with 25 g yeast, 1 tsp sugar and some flour)
500 g wholemeal flour (rye and spelt)
450 ml water
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp each caraway, aniseed, fennel, bread clover

Pea Purée
Sauté the onion in the butter, add the peas and cream and sauté for 6 minutes until soft.
Puree in a blender, season with salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese.

Asparagus
Carefully peel the asparagus from the head and cut off the ends. Bring plenty of salted water to the boil, add butter, sugar, white wine and salt.
Put in the asparagus and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, depending on their size.

Farmhouse bread
Mix the flour and put it in a bowl. make a hollow in the middle and put the dampfl in it. Cover and leave to ripen in a warm place at a maximum of 35 degrees for 15 minutes. Mix in the remaining ingredients, knead well and leave to rise, covered, for 30 minutes. Knead the dough again, form into 20 small loaves, sprinkle with some spelt flour and let rise again.
Bake in the preheated oven at 220 degrees and finish at 170 degrees for about 25 minutes.
Cooking test: the bread must sound hollow when tapped on the underside and have an even browning all around.

Finishing
Arrange the asparagus and pea puree on the plate and garnish with the strips of ham. Serve with toasted farmhouse bread.