Like so many other holidays, May Day is one of those that gives me a reason to look things up on wikipedia and snobbishly correct those who have assumed some grand, yet utterly incorrect relig-historical significance with the true insignificance that hides under hallmark marketing. Valentine’s Day isn’t sweet love, Cinco de Mayo isn’t Mexican Independence Day, and St. Patrick’s Day — I don’t even know where to start with that one.
I just assumed (just like I said I wouldn’t do) that May Day was some celebration of the start of Spring.
And I was right!
I choose to celebrate May Day because even though it has nothing to do with anything that I care about, it just gives me yet another excuse to incorporate the celebration of and with food into my daily life. It’s May Day! We must do the May dance! Around the Maypole! In my mind, there is a scarily vivid image that looks vaguely like a scene on a Mary Engelbreit recipe box of little girls skipping around a may pole to wrap it with ribbon. In some weird, Sandra Lee/Kwanzaa meets Martha Stewart way, wrapping prosciutto ribbons around asparagus May Poles seems perfect.
Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus Recipe
Some recipes call for blanching asparagus first before roasting or tossing with olive oil and seasonings (see a few of the recipe below), but I must ask, why?! It seems like a lot of wasted water, heat, and dishwashing effort. The beauty of this is that the prosciutto provides all the fat and flavor you need for the asparagus.
Ingredients for Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
- fresh asparagus, washed and trimmed of the woody stems
- enough prosciutto to wrap the asparagus, estimate about 1 slice per 2-3 spears
Preheat oven to 400.
Wrap 2-3 asparagus spears with a slice of prosciutto. Place on baking sheet with the prosciutto “seam” side down. Repeat with all the asparagus and prosciutto.
Pop baking sheet into oven for about 15 minutes, or until the asparagus is faintly charred and tender.
** There is no need to “oil” the baking sheet because the fat that renders from the prosciutto will be enough. The same idea applies to salt, though I have no problem hitting the finished asparagus with extra salt before serving.
Prosciutto + Asparagus Around the Web
- an allrecipe wraps single asparagus spears almost completely with prosciutto
- why even bother roasting? wrap cold blanched asparagus with prosciutto
- another allrecipe wraps asparagus with prosciutto that’s been spread with neufchatel cheese (dammit, why didn’t I think of that!?)
- the cheese addition to the prosciutto isn’t so novel, as Epicurious does it with Boursin cheese
- Giada roasts the asparagus first, then wraps with prosciutto
- also at the FoodNetwork, Michael Chiarello tops his with breadcrumbs for some extra texture
- keep it simple like Oprah and just throw cooked asparagus on a plate with piles of prosciutto
- EatingWell’s recipe via delish.com
