The Oscars last night were a bit of a disappointment (no dark horse winners, no amazing dress disaster, a shockingly unfunny Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin), but we still had a good time watching them at Rachel's house. Rachel made some delicious zucchini boats and chickpea fritters. Sadly, I couldn't compete with those because I was pressed for time this weekend, so I brought along some extra-simple appetizers, especially good for winter, when asparagus is extremely inexpensive.
You'll need:
About 1 lb. asparagus
Dijon mustard
4 oz. Prosciutto
Rinse asparagus and cut off the tough bottoms (about 1 inch). Place in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Simmer the asparagus until it turns a bright green and is slightly tender. Don't overcook! Soggy asparagus is a sad situation.
This is the sort of setup I'm talking about.
Drain the asparagus in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop any residual cooking. Remember: No overcooked asparagus!
Cut the prosciutto into long, thin strips. Each slice of prosciutto should make 3–4 strips. You'll need a very sharp knife to do this.
Lightly coat the bottom of the asparagus with Dijon mustard. You'll need to cover about 1 inch. This will help the prosciutto stick, and also adds a little kick of flavor. Incidentally, cooked asparagus just with Dijon mustard is delicious.
Wrap the prosciutto around the Dijon-coated portion of the asparagus. And done. Wow, that was easy.
The finished product.
I asked Rizi Bizi to help me, but she was too busy napping/snuggling on the couch.
She did, however, get up to eat a little prosciutto snack. I have never seen her eat anything so quickly.