It’s asparagus season! I try to trot out as many different asparagus dishes as possible during the few weeks that asparagus is popping out of the garden, and Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus is first in line. This appetizer is such a treat.
I serve it as an appetizer because it’s too meaty to be considered a vegetable side. Even so, you must take care to ensure that the asparagus isn’t upstaged; the asparagus should share top billing with the prosciutto. In order to hit the right balance of sweet, creamy, earthy asparagus, and salty, meaty prosciutto, it’s important that you use thick asparagus spears. If you use pencil-thin asparagus, they’ll look nice, but when you bit into them they’ll be disappointing – salty prosciutto will dominate your palate.
The problem with serving Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus as an appetizer, especially if you serve it with a lovely Mustard Hollandaise, is that your guests may be satisfied before you even deliver the next course of the meal to the table!
Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1 pound thick asparagus spears
- 1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
- olive oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prep the asparagus – Preheat the oven to 425℉, convection roast setting. Trim the tough ends off of the asparagus spears and and peel them if necessary.
- Prep the prosciutto and wrap the asparagus – Cut each slice of prosciutto in half crosswise. Place an asparagus spear across the cut edge of each Prosciutto piece, and roll it up. Place each spear on a lined baking sheet. Continue until you run out of either asparagus or prosciutto. Spray generously with olive oil.
- Bake 10-15 minutes – Bake for 10 – 15 minutes. You want the asparagus to be crisp tender on the outside and creamy on the inside. The Prosciutto should be developing little crispy edges.
- Serve – Pull out of the oven and arrange on your serving platter. Serve immediately.
INGREDIENT NOTE: I’ve make Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus using both Boar’s Head Prosciutto and Citterio, and I was surprised to find that the Citterio was much better. The Boar’s Head Prosciutto was drier yet overly marbled, so each slice would fall into pieces. The Citterio was creamy and intact – much easier to work with, but very salty. Next time I’m going to opt for prosciutto from the deli-counter!
