Make Asparagus Your Favorite Side Dish With This Lunch Meat Upgrade

Asparagus is a delicious vegetable, but it can be fickle when it comes to preparing and cooking. Asparagus can dry out if you don't blanch it, while cooking it too long makes the ends bitter and burnt. Get it exactly right, though, and it pairs well with just about anything, including lunch meats. If you want to elevate it a little with a popular pairing, consider wrapping asparagus spears in prosciutto.

This high-grade lunch meat may be a little difficult to work with, but it's so worth it. It's pretty much the crepe paper of meats, so it's likely to stick together, pull apart, and tear when you try to use it. What you need to do is very carefully separate all your prosciutto, then simply wrap it around individual asparagus spears. You can do it around small bunches of asparagus instead if your batch has particularly thin stalks. 

To make sure you get a nice, tight wrap keep tension on the prosciutto as you roll it. Put the prepared spears on a baking tray and drizzle a little olive oil over them and perhaps a touch of black pepper if you want a little extra spice. From there, put them into the oven for five minutes then roll the pieces around before finishing it off for another five minutes. You can also try cooking these on the grill. The result is soft (but not mushy) asparagus with lightly crisped prosciutto for a savory, luxurious bite. Plus, it looks positively classy.

You might notice a lack of spices or sauces with this serving method, and that's for a very good reason. There's just no need for tons of extra flavor with this already tasty dish, not unlike bacon-wrapped asparagus, another popular combo. While bacon, pancetta, and prosciutto are all very different from each other, they have something important in common — high salt content. Prosciutto is a cured meat, meaning it's very salty and has tons of umami flavor which it readily imparts into the asparagus while cooking. The sweet, vegetal notes of the asparagus crave the rich meatiness of prosciutto which also helps keep the spears moist. The other big factor is the mouthfeel of this dish. The crispness of the prosciutto adds variety to the soft chew of the asparagus, making it more enjoyable to eat.

There are a few mistakes you can make with the asparagus in this dish, such as overcooking it or failing to cut the right amount off the ends during preparation. However, once you get the technique down, this is one side dish you'll be proud to serve at dinner parties or indulge in during a quiet night by yourself. It's especially good for Easter, where serving asparagus with dinner is somewhat traditional. Don't be afraid to make it in big batches or prep it in advance, as the cured meat won't get funky if you keep the rolled spears in the refrigerator.