Historically, asparagus has been used as both food and medicine. Ancient Egyptians and Greeks cultivated asparagus and the oldest surviving book of recipes, De re coquinaria, contains a recipe for cooking this vegetable. 

INGREDIENTS

• Butter for greasing.
• 4 (4 ounce) fillets tilapia
• 12 asparagus spears
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 2 green onions

• 3/4 cup of white wine
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Use butter to grease a baking pan.
3. Trim the asparagus spears.
4. Wrap each tilapia fillet around 3 spears of asparagus and use wooden toothpicks to secure the wrap.
5. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
6. Place the wraps in the greased baking pan and cover with foil.
7. Bake the fish in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
8. Chop the green onions.
9. Remove the foil and sprinkle the dish with green onion. Return the baking pan (without the foil) to the oven and bake for 5-10 more minutes, until the tilapia fillets can be easily flaked with a fork.
10. While the tilapia is in the oven, prepare the sauce according to instructions below.
11. Place the wraps on serving plates, remove the toothpicks and spoon sauce over top. Bon appetite!  

White wine sauce

• Heat up the white wine in a small saucepan placed over medium heat.
• Combine cornstarch with lemon juice in a small bowl. It is important to whisk until there are no clumps.
• Pour the cornstarch mixture into the warm white wine while stirring.
• Stir in dried basil and black pepper.
• Cook until the sauce has thickened. This will normally take around 2 minutes.