Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto with soft-boiled egg
Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 11:31PM 
I am cooking a special dinner this weekend to say thank you to a friend of mine; I often say thank you with food. I have never cooked for Jane, but although she calls herself ‘Jane the hopeless cook’ I know that her worldly experience means that she certainly knows her food, even if she doesn’t like to cook it.
Under such circumstances, I always find myself fretting over what to cook, basically because I want to cook everything. I had so many different ideas this time that I went one step further than ever before, the geekiest a food geek could possibly be; I entered my starters, mains and desserts into 3 columns of an excel spreadsheet and sorted them into menus that went together, so that I could rule out options that didn’t fit. I cannot believe I am admitting this on a public website. Lucky I don’t have much traffic yet. Not so lucky, most of the visitors to the site know me. Oops!
Anyway, one of the dishes that I wanted to try was this, so I tested it out tonight to see if it worked. It does. In fact, it may even make the cut for Saturday.
First I must give credit where it is due. The idea for the egg came from a recipe on River Cottage Spring. In this episode Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his head chef both put forward a recipe for the restaurant menu using the first asparagus of the season. Hugh pairs his with a soft-boiled egg to which he adds 2 drops of cider vinegar and a tsp of butter; in his words, “DIY hollandaise sauce”. Now I’ve been making hollandaise sauce for years and have used it as an accompaniment to asparagus on many occasions, but this is so much more fun and innovative. In my recipe below I wrap the asparagus in prosciutto to add an extra dimension (read: to make it look posh) and I think it works a treat.
I made this recipe as a starter for 2, but you could easily double or triple it for more people or bigger portions. Basically you just need 1 egg per person with its condiments, about 6-8 asparagus spears and ½ a slice of prosciutto per asparagus spear to wrap it.
Ingredients
12 asparagus spears
2 eggcups to serve
Method
Since this recipe is a very quick to make and is best enjoyed warm, I suggest you set up your plates with eggcups at the beginning.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Depending on whether you prefer to steam or blanch the asparagus, prepare a steamer with about an inch of boiling water or bring another large saucepan full of water to the boil.
Trim the ends of the asparagus and set aside. Cut the slices of prosciutto in half and put to one side.
Add the eggs to the first saucepan and take note of the time, you don’t want to cook it for any longer than 6 minutes*.
Put the asparagus in the steamer and steam for approximately 3-5 minutes or until tender (this will depend on the thickness of the stems, you can check one by cutting off a bit of the end). If blanching the asparagus, add to the second saucepan of boiling water and blanch for approximately the same time, again checking after three minutes.
Drain the asparagus when cooked and refresh under cold water; this will make them easier to handle instantly. You can then begin to wrap them in prosciutto and arrange on the plates.
Remove the eggs from the water (if they are ready before you have finished the asparagus then you may need to do this in the middle of preparing the asparagus). Place in the eggcups and tap the top of the egg with a teaspoon and slice off using the spoon or a knife. Add the lemon, butter, salt and pepper to the egg and serve.
* I find that the timing for soft-boiling an egg varies between 4 and 7 minutes, depending on the temperature of the egg, whether you have pricked it with a pin, how fresh they are and so on. I usually go for 5-6 minutes, but if you are really unsure and are after clearer directions, Delia online has some good tips. She also provides advice on steaming asparagus.
Vix
I ended up making this as the first course last night and used duck's egg instead. It worked really well except that overcooked the first batch; I had never cooked a duck's egg before and overestimated the timing. I had one left over, which I used when I realised I'd over cooked the first lot; I did it for about 6 minutes and it was perfect.
The other dishes that made the cut were:
Goats cheese and red onion tart with sun-dried tomatoes and olives served with green salad
Duck pie served with seasonal vegetables
Mini raspberry and mascarpone cheesecakes
And this is the lovely orchid Jane gave me (even thought I was supposed to be saying thank you to her!)
The photos of the duck pie and cheesecake were taken by my friend Sara with her SLR. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, it really does make a discernible difference. I think I am going to have to start saving for my own.
Recipes to follow.
Reader Comments (8)
This looks amazingly tasty...and is uber simple.
It certainly fits my new healthy regime criteria (note this started after consuming a (drunken) oporto burger at 5 this morning)
ps. Love the makeshift egg cups!
Mmm, Oporto... there is only one in London at Victoria. A few weeks ago I had a work event at Westminster. I walked to Victoria especially, even though there are tubes much more conveniently located just for a bondi burger; it was totally worth it!
Yes, really ought to invest in some proper egg cups cause think I will be making this a lot.
excuse me...
but can you please come home now...
I WANT VIXY YUM TART AND CHEESE CAKE AND DUCK PIE
will the recipes be up for these ? i think i should take the plunge and try tart/pastry out.
I didn't know there was an oportos in London...and all these years i felt so sorry for you and the depravity!
"hey I'm depraved on account I'm deprived " ... dear Officer Kruppke...lalalal.....
he he he x x
I finally got to enjloy one of those duck pies that you made for Jane which I had kept in the freezer. It was really good - even the pastry survived the freezer well. I 'm looking for the recipe - can you add one to the blog? Ma x
It was actually one of the first recipes I started to type up, but I got stuck when it came to explaining how to skin a duck, basically because I have no technique to speak of. Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking arrived in the post last week, so she may be able to come to the rescue!
Your asparagus and prosciutto dish inspired me to put it on my menu at work. I needed it to be more 'substantial' (for the greedy sydney siders) and for the cafe setting and so made a few additions...
rocket and
a truffle and lemon dressing
the asparagus sits on the bed of rocket with the prosciutto and then 1 poached egg on the top to replace the boiled egg...I guess it takes away the fun of dipping the spears into the egg but as can be seen from your photo...eggs cups not the first things lying around!
Will hopefully be able to upload a photo of the dish soon.
- The King of Windang!!
The King of Windang himself, oh my, what an honour! Love the sound of the lemon and truffle dressing, rocket and prosciutto are always a good combo too... a meal fit for a king ;)
Shot glasses do make a good substitute for egg cups, but your customers might think it a little odd.
Would be great to see the photo! x