Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto

December 1, 2004

If you're watching your weight, asparagus is guilt-free. It has fibre, potassium, vitamin B6, thiamine, is low in sodium, contains no cholesterol or fat, contains anticarcinogens and antioxidants and has less than four calories a spear. Because it's such a virtuous vegetable you can afford to jazz it up a little. Of course there is the old favourite, hollandaise sauce, but we don't always want to spend time whisking up a batch of calories. To peel or not to peel? I think the larger stalks benefit from a shave before cooking. A potato peeler will make quick work of the task. Just peel the lower two thirds. For today's recipe I used very slender asparagus spears because they look good, but these must be absolutely fresh and not at all woody. The fatter spears are perfectly all right.

Roasted asparagus with prosciutto

2-3 bunches asparagus
75g pack of prosciutto
50g roasted hazelnuts
extra virgin olive oil
flakey sea salt
cold-pressed hazelnut oil
lemon juice

Peel the asparagus if you wish. Take three or four spears and place them on a strip of prosciutto and roll them up so the dried ham forms a band around the middle and holds the spears together.

Heat your oven to 200C. Place the bundles of asparagus on a roasting tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast for 10-12 minutes until tender.

Finely chop the roasted hazelnuts and sprinkle over the centre of the asparagus. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on the asparagus, drizzle over a little hazelnut oil and sprinkle with the salt.

Serves 4-6.

The hazelnuts can be toasted in a non-stick frying pan or in a non-stick cake tin in the oven. Check regularly to ensure they don't burn.