Many of us are unaware of tagarninas, but for others they are as traditional as a grandmother’s recipe. The thing is that these cardillos are delicious and, therefore, in this article we are going to prepare a recipe for asparagus tagarninas and talk a little about them.
Tagarninas grow on their own in the wild and are usually harvested in the spring, as is the case with wild asparagus. They are more common in Cádiz and areas of Andalusia, but they spread by themselves and can be found in other regions, being confused with the undergrowth. The good news is that you can also find them fresh in the markets or in preserves, so look for them when you can and discover how to make asparagus tagarninas with us.
Ingredients to make asparagus tagarninas:
- 150 grams of canned or fresh tagarnina
- 2 eggs
- 4 pieces of serrano ham
- 1 slice of organza bread
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 pinch of salt, paprika from la Vera, cumin, ground cayenne
- 2 squirts of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 jet of water
How to make asparagus tagarninas:
Prepare the tagarninas, drain their water well and reserve. Cut a slice of village bread, which is the one with the most crumbs, and hit the garlic cloves to peel them and cut them more easily into 4 pieces.
Pour a good stream of oil in the pan where you will make the sauce and the recipe in its entirety. First, fry the garlic and, halfway through frying, add pieces of bread to brown. Flip them over so they don’t burn.
Tip: Choose a large frying pan so you can add all the ingredients for the asparagus tagarninas.
Once you see that they are already crispy, remove from the heat and blend this sauce. Add a splash of water so that it acquires a paste consistency. Then it will be added to the rest of the dish to give it an extra flavor.
Return to the pan and add the paprika without turning on the heat. In this way, you will take advantage of the warm oil and prevent it from burning and becoming bitter.
Tip: Paprika is one of the most vulnerable spices and can burn in less than a few seconds.
Add the tagarninas to the pan and turn on the heat. Sauté at low temperature for a minute and add the mashed paste that you had reserved. Stir gently so that all the ingredients are integrated.
Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, a pinch of salt and a pinch of ground cumin to the sauce. Mix carefully. Without stopping frying at low temperature, crack the eggs and cook them slowly in the same pan. Add the Serrano ham strips and let the eggs set.
Once they set, your asparagus tagarninas will be ready! You can serve them as a starter or as a side, but also as we show here: in a dish to share. In this case, we have laid one egg per head. Enjoy!
