One of My Favorites - Asparagus...

This was my dinner last night. One of my favorite things is Asparagus. I guarantee if you try this recipe you will be hooked. I learned this from my best friend, Pascale in Switzerland...she got the love of pumpkin pie from me - I got asparagus wrapped in ham!!

You will need:

1. Boursin Cheese (pronounced Bursan) - I like the cracked black pepper variety.
2. Olive Oil
3. Fresh asparagus
4. Thinly sliced dried ham - such as prosciutto di Parma (procuitto)

Buy good quality asparagus, the fattest stalks you can find. In preparation, you will snap the stalky end off the asparagus - nature tells you where by the flex point. It will snap where it is supposed to. Just bend the end down and let it pop.

Allow your Boursin to come to room temperature as it is a spreadeable cheese made with fine herbs and my favorite is the Black Pepper. You will spread about 1 tablespoon per each cluster of asparagus to be baked.

Choose three to four asparagus stalks and place them on top of the slice of parma ham. Put a tablespoon of Boursin in the midde, and bring the ends of the ham together to close the bundle of asparagus. Repeat this until you have made the desired number you wish to serve.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a baking dish or a pan and place the bundles on top. Lightly drizzle olive oil over the top and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes depending on the size of your asparagus stalks. Small stalks can also be used, cooking about 7 minutes.

You will need nothing on top - no salt or pepper. The cheese will become melted and the ham will crispen and provide the salt for the dish.

I love serving this with a filet de bouf and fingerling potatoes with fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

Bug