Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Keeping with the brunch theme this month, today's recipe is one of my favorite brunch side dishes: prosciutto wrapped asparagus. It not only looks beautiful on a plate, but the combination of flavors is both refreshing and hearty. But don't let it fool you; this recipe may appear to look simple but it does take some time to prepare (what with all the wrapping of each asparagus and what-not). However, with that in mind, please don't let that scare you off from making it! Yes it takes some time to prep but the plus side is, you can make these the night before and refrigerate them until needed. Not to mention they are delicious and are sure to wow your guests.

So pull up a chair, crank up the music, and get to wrapping some asparagus!

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of asparagus, the hard ends cut off
1-2 packages of prosciutto, cut into 1 inch wide strips
1 bunch fresh whole chives

Start by getting a vegetable steamer ready to steam the asparagus. While that is heating up, fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. When the steamer is ready, steam the asparagus but only for about 15 seconds!--If you steam it for too long, you are going to have sad limp asparagus.-- As soon as you remove the asparagus from the steamer, submerge the asparagus into the bowl of ice water. This will stop the asparagus from further cooking. You're not wanting to cook the asparagus until it's soft. You're just looking to blanch them. After about a minute in the ice water, remove the asparagus and place on a kitchen towel. Gently dry off the asparagus.

Next, take strips of prosciutto and start wrapping single strips around each asparagus.

Once all the asparagus is wrapped in prosciutto, take a "string" of chives and tie it around the prosciutto on each wrapped asparagus (see the picture above).

Serve cold with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
Balsamic vinaigrette
Olive Oil
Lemon juice
garlic, finely chopped
pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and serve cold.

*You'll notice I did not specify any measurements for the dipping sauce. I usually just mix it to taste. If you really need a starting point for measurements, I'd say roughly 3 Tbl olive oil, 2 Tbl balsamic, 1 Tbl lemon juice. Garlic, pepper, and red pepper flakes are all to your own liking.