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Friday, April 27, 2007

April Showers= Good Time to Eat Asparagus


The bounty of spring brings us fresh asparagus and the troubling pee smell that comes with consuming it. But don't let that get you down. It's easy to cook, delicious, and good for you too.

TIP: Store aparagus upright in a jar with a little water in the refrigerator

The conventional wisdom says that you should hold both ends of the asparagus spear and gently fold until it snaps at its natural "freshness" point. My experience is that this leads to an awkward assortment of asparagus of varying lengths. Trim off 1.5 -2 inches of the asparagus and you'll be good to go.

Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto is so easy and delicious as an appetizer or side dish.



I prefer Prosciutto de Parma for its nutty flavor and fine quality, which I purchased with a Whole Foods giftcard, a generous and thoughtful Easter gift from Alex's Yia-Yia.

After trimming the aparagus ends, wrap thinly sliced prosciutto around the spears.

Prepare vinaigrette:

1/4 cup olive oil
fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
1 tbsp lemon zest, chopped
2 pressed garlic cloves
salt & pepper

Add all of the ingredients except olive oil in a mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.

Using a pastry brush, coat the proscuitto wrapped sparagus on both sides with the vinaigrette.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.Remove from oven.

Sprinkle shaved parmesan cheese to garnish before serving.


Alex's Chicken with Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A good variation on this is to spread some Boursin cheese on the prosciutto before rolling. Bake the same and serve at a cocktail party... it's easy to eat and delicious! Keep up the good work, Lady.