Health & Fitness
Grilled Speck-Wrapped Asparagus
Need a side dish or appetizer for your holiday weekend cookout? This will wow your family and friends' taste buds.
What's speck? It's a cured Italian meat that is smoked over beechwood with herbs and spices, like juniper, rosemary and laurel, then air-dried. Speck is traditionally too fatty to be eaten raw but when cooked it adds amazing flavor to soup and stew. It's sometimes called Italian bacon. Think of it as a smoky prosciutto.
During the summer grilled asparagus is a staple for me, but I wanted my family to be asparagus lovers too. Following a cooking demo of speck-wrapped figs at Tuscan Kitchen, I figured I'd try a new twist on grilled asparagus. Prosciutto would work well, too, but my family prefers the smokiness of the speck.
We grill these every weekend; sometimes they don't even make it to the serving platter. They make a great presentation and they're just amazing. If there are any leftovers, chop them up and add to omelets, risotto, salads, etc.
What you need:
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- 1/2 lb speck, thinly sliced
- EVOO
- Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
What you do:
- Cut speck in half lengthwise.
- Beginning below spear tip begin wrapping speck around stalk.
- Squeeze to adhere speck to asparagus.
- Repeat with remaining stalks.
- Drizzle with EVOO and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat grill.
- Brush or spray grill grate with EVOO.
- Cook asparagus for about 5 min, turning once.
- Remove to serving dish and enjoy.
