Popular tradition, before it was cultured, attributed aphrodisiac virtues to the asparagus (…).
A large collection of gallant prints, once reserved for boudoirs, smoking rooms, reserved strictly for males or a few intellectual females of notorious nonconformity, and the less accessible shelves of libraries, makes the asparagus a comprimario on the scene where the itchy ritual of allusion, of winking, is performed.
Eros at the table, by Piero Lorenzoni, (…) quoting a curious recipe book of a 1920s gourmand, where he distinguishes between delicacies intended for the seduction of blondes and those dedicated to brunettes, ‘green’ asparagus is ascribed to the latter and presented as follows:
“Gently clean some carefully chosen asparagus. Divide them into small, even bunches to facilitate even cooking. Cook them in salted water, to which you will add a little salt until tender and at the same time more digestible. Drain them.
On the other hand, prepare a well-thickened Béchamel sauce by reducing over the heat and incorporate some fresh fior di latte into it, seasoning with just the right amount of salt.
Serve the sauce in a sauce boat that you will accompany the tray, in which you will have arranged your asparagus on a bed formed by a napkin elegantly folded into several doubles’.

text taken from:
The asparagus
Paolo Morganti, Maurizio Onorato, Morganti Editore, 1997