WIAW #51: Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto and Sharp Provolone

Note: My phone has decided not to use any internet properly so there is a lack of photos in this post but at 9PM I decided I might as well post this anyway since this is Finals and it is pretty amazing that I was able to write this.

For the past four years, December has meant one thing: FINAL EXAMS. No, I wish the answer was Christmas, but sadly the holiday season often gets puts aside for papers, exams, and bad eating.
First of all, I will premise that with Jenn from Peas and Crayons’ “no judging” rule in place regarding What I Ate Wednesday, I will refrain from judging myself for bad eating. That’s part of the brilliance of her “healthy holiday” theme this month.

With that in mind I am finally posting a recipe from Thanksgiving: Roasted Asparagus with prosciutto and sharp provolone. While this recipe is by no means the absolute healthiest thing you can bring to a party, it is really delicious and in the grand scheme of things is homemade with quality ingredients…and is a vegetable after all.




But back to that in a minute. First here are my eats in the craziness of Finals. Since this year final exams go over the weekend I actually have a three-day break to make up for the fact I am working six-days a week over the break.

Still, this is a crazy time maybe because I spent Tuesday afternoon on one of the biggest grocery shopping trips of my own ever. Long story short, we were out of just about everything except some very strange exceptions so last night for dinner I made smoked salmon scrambled egg wraps with extra sharp cheddar cheese and baked hash browns. Let’s just say we needed a few things.

Now I am simply coming off the stressful adrenaline kick from my last paper on Monday and just needed to relax.

Breakfast (Before the grocery trip)

Fried egg on top of baked red potato and sweet potato hash browns and a fried tomato

Lunch (leftovers a work)

Half of a leftover Jimmy John’s Club Tuna Sub, Trader Joe’s apple strawberry fruit snack, and orange juice

Snack

Two dark chocolate sea salt caramels via impulse by from my major two-store shopping trip

Dinner (after grocery shopping you can tell)

Mediterranean baked salmon with tri-color quinoa, olives, feta, roasted red peppers and sautéed spinach

Another great eat this week:

My new favorite: Kick Start oatmeal from Umpqua oats. So delicious, all-natural and super packed with great stuff

What I wish I was eating right now:

Roasted Asparagus with prosciutto and sharp provolone (one side without prosciutto)

I usually do not post recipes on WIAW that I haven’t eaten that day but since this is a “holiday recipe” I really really wanted to share it with you all. I first had this at Dante & Luigi’s in Philadelphia, the oldest Italian restaurant in the city. This isn’t even on the regular menu but was an appetizer special the day we went for our special dinner there. We loved it and I immediately wanted to recreate it again for Thanksgiving. Fast forward the day of my family went nuts over it which made me happy since I am also in love with the recipe.

Part of the reason this recipe works so well in my opinion, is the homemade tomato sauce. This can be made the day before (as I did) and refrigerate overnight. Other than the tomato sauce, the recipe comes together quickly and easily. It is a great side dish for any holiday meal with or without the prosciutto (we had a meatless half too.) This would go great with baked ham or roasted turkey. If you are a 12-fish kind of family, this is an Italian recipe after all!

Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto

and Sharp Provolone:

(Recreated from Dante & Luigi’s, Philadelphia)

Ingredients:
3 bunches of whole fresh asparagus, hard stems off
1 cup sharp provolone cheese, thinly sliced (not grated)
4 long slices of prosciutto, cut into strips and chopped into 1 inch pieces
Black pepper
Garlic salt
1 garlic clove, minced
Olive oil

Tomato Sauce:
35 oz. can of peeled tomatoes
5 oz. butter, cut into pads
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
½ cup dry red wine

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan, bring to medium-high heat and add butter and onion halves. Add can tomatoes and its liquid to the pan. Bring to a slow boil, crushing tomatoes on the side of the pan. Reduce heat to medium keeping sauce as a constant simmer, stirring frequently.

Let sauce simmer for about 45 minutes or until sauce is noticeably thicker and butter bubbles appear on the top. Crush any remaining tomato pieces or remove and chop them up, then return to sauce.

With a slotted spoon, remove onions and discard from sauce. (You've already used all of their flavor.)

Cool sauce until needed. You can make the day ahead if you are able.

Make the asparagus and assemble right before you are ready to serve the dish so it is hot and fresh.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat asparagus working in two batches with a light drizzle of olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Spread asparagus out on a metal baking sheet and roast in oven for 10 minutes until asparagus is tender. Do not turn the oven off.

While asparagus is cooking, reheat sauce in a sauce pan. Add red wine, salt, and pepper as needed. The sauce should be delicious yet simple.

On two large oven-safe serving platters ladle enough tomato sauce to create a thin bed of sauce. Carefully lay roasted asparagus on top of the sauce. (You may have leftover sauce)

Evenly cover asparagus with prosciutto and then cover with the cheese. Place the platters in the oven carefully for a few minutes just until cheese is melted and bubbly and slightly browned. Take platters out of the oven and serve immediately with a little  more fresh cracked black pepper on top.

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

And because it is final exams week. Here is one of my favorite songs ever.



Your'e welcome.