Saturday, May 22, 2010

Asparagus, Brie and Parma Ham rolls


Another riff on asparagus and cheese which really do go very well together. I came across the idea in the London restaurant Polpo where they were serving it with Taleggio. That I think would be the ideal cheese but as I was making a cut price version I used Brie. Perfect for a nibble with drinks.

Makes 12 - enough for 4-6 depending on what else you’re eating

A bunch of asparagus
A small (135g) pack of good quality Brie or - better still -Taleggio
85g pack of parma ham

Take each of the asparagus spears and break off the stalk about two thirds of the way down from the tip. Put them in a frying pan with a little water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 3-4 minutes until just tender. Drain and set aside. Cut the Brie into long slices, remove the rind and cut into small strips. Carefully remove each slice of parma ham and tear or cut it lengthwise down the centre. Take each spear, add one of the pieces of cheese then wrap one of the strips of ham round them. Season with a little freshly ground black pepper. You could also serve this as a starter drizzled with a little olive oil

4 comments:

scandilicious said...

Mmm, liking this marriage of asparagus, cheese and parma ham. All the good things in life :)

Chris Pople said...

This is so weird - I had all those ingredients separately at my BBQ yesterday, I just didn't think of combining them :)

Taleggio is amazing isn't it, my greatest new cheese discovery. I'll probably post about it tomorrow or Tuesday.

Ollie said...

Gorgeous Fiona - bravo. Now on to their squid ink risotto...

Fiona Beckett said...

And very umami, Sig . . .

Agree about Taleggio Chris. I absolutely love it. Especially on pizza. It's much more flavourful than mozzarella.

Not sure I'd embark on their squid ink risotto, Ollie but they've got a great bruschetta on the menu topped with ricotta spiked with lemon zest and skinned broad beans. That might have to be the Next Big Thing

ps I don't spend ALL my time in Polpo ;-)