As a parent to four small children (under 10), there is little time for fancy dinners, for multiple courses stretching out into the evening, for over indulging in food alongside clever and delicious drinks, for good friends wiling the time away with nothing better to do. That time will come though: a time when food does not get flung unceremoniously from the table, a time when noses don’t wrinkle and upturn because there’s no pizza or grilled cheese sandwiches, and a time when tantrums aren’t thrown over who gets to sit where at the table…
And when that time comes I plan on being ready! Many of the best moments in life, where plots and dreams are hatched, where relationships are built brick by drink by moment or joke shared, are often over drinks and good food. It’s often about ‘wasting’ time together and the truth is, it’s never a waste because you’re doing it together. Those are the moments when I want to pull out a recipe like this one.
Why? Because it’s both sophisticated and simple to prepare. And it’s incredibly delicious. When you have people over, you don’t want dishes that take forever to put together, that have you sweating away in the kitchen while the others enjoy your drinks and have conversations without you. So you need recipes like this one.
This one is best suited for spring or early summer when the asparagus is best. Made with my foraged wild garlic mustard, you can make that ahead of time and have it waiting in the fridge. You make sure you swing by the grocer and pick up the rest of the ingredients the morning before. And then, when you need to eat, it literally takes 10 minutes or less to put it all together. And everyone is impressed by how it looks and how delicious it is. It’s so simple I’m almost embarrassed to call it a recipe.
(Note: In the picture I’ve garnished the plate with microgreens, shaved Parmesan, radish, and foraged Pheasant Back mushroom conserve (using this method from Forager Chef)
Prosciutto Wrapped Grilled Asparagus with Garlic Mustard Pesto
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Loading...An easy appetizer with all the flavours of spring.
Ingredients
- 6 asparagus stems, select smaller, more tender stems & snap or chop off the bottom where it tends to get 'woody'
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 slices prosciutto
- garlic mustard pesto (recipe in link in post)
- spring greens or flowers or pickled veggies to garnish with
Instructions
Heat the grill or frying pan; I'm partial to the grill if given the option.
Pour a generous amount of olive oil over the asparagus and mix. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, though don't go too heavy on the salt as the prosciutto is a fairly salty meat itself.
Grill the asparagus just long enough to get some char on all sides (a hot grill helps with not overcooking). You want to keep the stems with some crunch and not let them overcook.
Remove from grill and wrap each stem with half of a slice of prosciutto.
Put a dollop of garlic mustard pesto on the plate, and stack the thee stems of asparagus in a pleasing manner. Garnish with local greens, flowers or pickles depending on what's available.
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