Making Art of Leftovers

During the week, dinner is not so much an art, but an exercise in using up leftovers. It is usually a simple affair, but this one warranted a posting. I don't eat pork products often, but my inspired Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Prosciutto Stuffed Morels and Asparagus had filled my fridge with leftover asparagus and prosciutto. And so, tired and bleary eyed, I knew my asparagus had to be eaten quickly or else die a fiberous death in my fridge. Hmm. Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus seemed as good as anything. Simple, easy, and fast, perfect for a midweek dinner. Since the recipe analyzer doesn't seem to want to recognize prosciutto, I guestimate the caloric content of this to be around 150 calories.


I took about 12 stalks of asparagus and trimmed them to 6 inches. I took 3 pieces of leftover prosciutto, trimmed the fatty edge off, and then cut each one into four square-ish looking pieces. Each piece got wrapped around the asparagus stalk, then rolled in a combination of cracked black pepper and thyme.


I plugged in my George Foreman grill and away we went. About 4 minutes later, pure crusty perfection and perfectly cooked asparagus. I couldn't believe how easy it was. This is something I would serve as an appetizer at a dinner party. On a side note, this is also perfect for when you get those really fat pieces of asparagus that don't have the subtle flavors of the young delicate ones. The prosciutto creates a perfect paring to mask the fact that you don't have the most perfect asparagus. Not that I would ever buy less-than-perfect produce...