Roasted & Wrapped Asparagus

Here’s the second recipe I “cooked” up for the Friday Foodie Fix on The W.H.O.L.E. Gang blog. I’ve never used Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese before. (I know, you can’t see the cream cheese but it’s in there.) To my surprise it worked remarkably well. The herbs, lemon, and balsamic vinegar provided the edge that was definitely needed to make this recipe work. And, the sun-dried tomatoes just seemed like a perfect accompaniment to the flavors of the asparagus and prosciutto.

This recipe is defintely more savory than the Asparagus Mango Salad but has the same saltiness and variety of flavors.

I think it would be great to use cream cheese or a cream cheese/goat cheese combination if you aren’t avoiding dairy or are avoiding soy. In fact, an easy option would be herbed goat chevre.

This is a very attractive and tasty appetizer to serve to family or friends.

Roasted & Wrapped Asparagus

12-15 asparagus spears
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

½ cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon dried basil
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
about 8 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper

½ pound prosciutto

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

Bring the “cream cheese” to room temperature. Mix in the basil, lemon zest, olive oil, vinegar, salt and a generous helping of pepper until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the diced sun-dried tomatoes. Return the mixture to the refrigerator.

Rinse and trim the asparagus. Place the spears one layer thick on the cookie sheet. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes until tender. Remove and cool – about 15-30 minutes.

Now you’ll start to assemble the prosciutto, cheese and asparagus. Take one piece of prosciutto at a time. Trim the top and bottom and any fat from the meat. If the prosciutto piece is large you may be able to get two pieces out of it – each piece need only be about 3 or 4 inches in length.

Take about 1 to 2 teaspoons of the “cheese” mixture and spread it about an inch from the edge along the short end of the prosciutto. Place the asparagus on the cheese and begin wrapping the short end of the prosciutto over the asparagus continuing to the end of the prosciutto. Wrap each of the asparagus spears the same way.

Place the wrapped spears on a serving plate and return to the refrigerator until ready to serve. These can be made any time during the day they are to be served.

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Asparagus Mango Salad

This week I am motivated by Diane Eblin’s Friday Foodie Fix (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang) challenge. The secret ingredient is asparagus.

Asparagus is practically a staple in our house but it’s not usually prepared in a way that hasn’t been done a million times in thousands of kitchens across the country. We eat asparagus in risotto and roasted with oil, salt, and pepper. And, easy, easy, easy, steamed or grilled and drizzled with Italian dressing.

So, it seemed like a good time to be more creative. I needed to be inspired and that called for a roadtrip to Whole Foods. OK, I didn’t really need much of an excuse to go to Whole Foods. The whole way there and back I prepared asparagus dishes in my mind. (I am a master of mental cooking — some people have a soundtrack in their minds. I have a foodtrack.)

I came up with Asparagus Mango Salad and an appetizer — Roasted & Wrapped Asparagus. I haven’t made the second one yet. Tomorrow is another day.

I really wanted a recipe that would be easy, look great, and provide flavors complementary to the unique flavor of the asparagus. So, something bright and sweet — mango! Add the zing and beauty of the red onion. Finally, top it with the smoky saltiness of bacon. And, here it is… 

Asparagus Mango Salad

1 bunch asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ fresh ripe mango, diced
2 slices red onion, diced
3 slices cooked GF bacon, chopped
Lemon Balsamic Dressing
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

Rinse and trim the asparagus. Place the spears one layer thick on the cookie sheet. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Roast in the oven for 15 minutes until tender. Remove and cool.

Cut the cooled asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Add the diced mango, red onion, and cooked bacon pieces. Salt and pepper to taste. Dress with a few tablespoons of Lemon Balsamic Dressing.

Serves 4 (or 2 hungry) people.

Note: I used Boar’s Head Fully Cooked Bacon — gluten free.

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