Is it just me, or do my recipes have the longest names ever?!  Well, I don’t cut corners when it comes to food!  And you’re going to love these Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Bundles drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar.  It’s a lot simpler to make than it sounds.

Let’s get started!

If you aren’t familiar with prosciutto, it’s an Italian ham that can be baked until crispy (like it is in this recipe) or eaten as is (with a super buttery texture) on a cheese platter.  I honestly like it both ways. It can be found at the deli counter in most grocery stores, or prepackaged like it is here.

Asparagus

Start by snapping the hard, woody ends off of the asparagus.  I do this by grasping each end of the asparagus in a separate hand and bending the stalk.  The woody end will naturally snap off and you can discard it (or use it for vegetable stock or compost if you’re more proactive than me).

I like to look for asparagus about the width of a pencil, much thicker than that and I find the vegetable can get a little chewy.

Take bundles of 3 asparagus and wrap them tightly with one slice of prosciutto.

Preheat the oven to 400 F and place the bundles on a baking sheet.  Drizzle a little olive oil over the asparagus.

Bake for 8 minutes and then flip the bundles over and cook for 8 more minutes.  At this point, flip the bundles back over to their original side and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Place back in the oven for 5 minutes until the prosciutto and parmesan are nice and crispy!

The Parmesan cheese baked onto the pan is one of my favorite parts, so either eat that yourself before anyone else sees it…or crumble it on the serving platter.

Drizzle with a quality balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with pepper (I don’t usually add any salt, because the prosciutto and parmesan already add quite a bit of flavor).

The vinegar I like to use is a thick balsamic vinegar that is a tiny bit sweet. Just use your favorite and you can’t go wrong.

Asparagus Bundles without drizzled vinegar are good too!

But this is my favorite way.  Enjoy!

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Bundles drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar

Asparagus, woody ends snapped off
Prosciutto, as needed (a 4 ounce package has approximately 8 slices, enough for 24 asparagus stalks – 8 bundles)
Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
Olive Oil, for drizzling
Quality Balsamic Vinegar, for drizzling
Pepper, to taste

Directions

Wash and dry asparagus. Snap off the woody ends and discard. Wrap 3 asparagus* stalks in one slice of prosciutto. Repeat. Place asparagus bundles on a baking sheet, and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Bake at 400 for 8 minutes, turn bundles over, bake 8 more minutes. Turn bundles back to original side and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and season with pepper (the prosciutto and Parmesan add enough salt that I don’t usually find the need to add extra). Just before serving drizzle with a thick balsamic vinegar, if desired.

*If you have very large asparagus, you will only want to do 1 or 2 asparagus per bundle so that they’re able to cook through. The asparagus I used were able the width of a pencil.