Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus make the most wonderful presentation item and serve equally well as a snack or side dish. I saw an episode on Food Network with Trisha Yearwood where she took what could have been a really nice and simple meat wrapped veg recipe and transformed it into a processed food nightmare. It seems today that making food that is simple and clean is a lost art. Even so called "Pioneer" women can't make something from scratch. There is a mass produced box package product in every single dish. I might have buried my history lessons way out past Terlingua but I am pretty sure that our pioneering ancestors did not use a box of Bisquick around the campfire. Can you imagine these "chefs" trying to actually survive as chefs 100 years ago? That would be hilarious.

Primal side effect: excellent compost.

I would be willing to get my cable back if they had a Primal or Paleo food show. The best part would be trying to find commercials to fill in between segments. I can just see people rolling theirs eyes as the announcer comes on to say that this show was brought to you buy Kraft Singles. That would be a facepalm moment for sure. In my fantasy land, I would be competing against Nom Nom Paleo in an Iron Chef competition with Alton Brown explaining the science of sous vide. This is also the same fantasy land where I can properly do a sous vide preparation. My kitchen skills have improved in the past year but I don't know if I am up to that standard just yet. 

Make a little oily garlic bath and let the asparagus get friendly. 

Speaking of cooking skills.....if someone would have told me that I would need to know how to cook this well in order to eat I would have laughed at them. I thought I knew how to cook before our massive diet overhaul. Turns out I cooked like an American. That is to say, I bought a box of chemically altered, mass produced garbage and plopped it into a pan/microwave/pot and heated it. That is not cooking. That is reheating. Thanks to our primal lifestyle, I can really cook. I spend so much time in my kitchen now and I love it. I truly wouldn't have it any other way. I wish my husband had a bit more time to cook but he is super busy with work so I am just grateful that I get to stay at home and make him awesome meals. I pretty much get to mess around in the kitchen all day and use my family as (willing) test subjects. That is pretty sweet. 

Wrap up the deliciousness with a layer of pork. 

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus, cleaned and trimmed
• 1 package of prosciutto or bacon
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbl olive oil
• salt and pepper

Prep:

Preheat oven to 400F. Trim the ends of the asparagus. This could mean a little or a lot depending on how woody the stalks are. I like to snap the ends off but you can make a clean cut for presentation or speed.

Take a baking sheet out and cover in foil. Lay the cleaned stalks out and place the garlic, salt and pepper over them with a touch of olive oil. Not too much since the prosciutto will make a bit of grease. Once mixed, wrap groups of 3 or 4 stalks with a piece of the meat and set back on the tray. If you use bacon, turn the asparagus over once in the middle of cooking. 

Pop into the oven for 15 minutes. You don't want soggy, limp asparagus so if they are thin, cook a little less time.