This delicious ham wrapped asparagus recipe is a crowd pleaser at any event! It’s easy to prepare and make ahead for dinner parties or brunch, or you can prepare it as a side dish for your favorite meal. Use good quality Iberian or Serrano ham for the best results.
Spring seems to have arrived in Madrid early this year with temperatures in the high 60’s since mid-February! While a concern for the environment, I must admit that it’s been a pleasure cooking with both winter and summer vegetables over these past weeks. And one of the vegetables you’ll start seeing right around now is fresh asparagus, one of my all-time favorite vegetables and the star of this Spanish style roasted asparagus recipe.
Asparagus and ham is a perfect pairing, and this simple recipe uses delicious Spanish ingredients to take things to the next level. While any cured ham will do, I recommend making this with good quality Spanish jamón-- either Iberian or Serrano. And for a real treat, this recipe is topped with grated Manchego cheese too. You really can’t go wrong!
Top Tips
- Prepare these ham wrapped asparagus stalks up to a day in advance, and cover with cling film. When ready to roast, simply remove from the refrigerator and they’ll be ready in minutes!
- Leftovers (if there are any!) make a delicious addition to any salad. You can even cut them into smaller pieces with kitchen scissors and sprinkle them on top of your favorite greens. With a squeeze of lemon and some extra virgin olive oil, you’ll be in salad heaven.
- If someone you are serving doesn’t eat ham, roast the asparagus on its own, and once roasted make a “pincho” (a skewer) with the roasted asparagus and sundried tomato. It’s just as delicious!
Roasted Asparagus Wrapped in Ham with Manchego Cheese
Roasted Asparagus Wrapped in Ham with Manchego Cheese
Ingredients
- 18 Asparagus spears 2-3 per person if serving as an appetizer, ends trimmed
- Extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ pound about 200g thinly sliced cured ham (Iberian, Serrano, or Prosciutto)
- Black pepper
- Grated Manchego cheese
Instructions
- Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and preheat your oven to 425°F
- In a large bowl or baking dish, coat the asparagus spears with extra virgin olive oil and fresh black pepper (remember that the cured ham and Manchego cheese are both salty, so skip adding extra salt here)
- Wrap each asparagus spear with cured ham. If your ham slices are very large, you may only need to use half per spear. Roll on the diagonal to fully wrap the asparagus.
- Place each wrapped spear on the baking sheet, making sure they aren’t touching one another (or they’ll steam instead of getting crispy).
- Drizzle lightly with olive oil
- Bake for five minutes in the middle of the oven
- Remove from oven and flip each ham wrapped asparagus spear so that both sides get nice and crispy. At this point grate manchego cheese on top, and return to the oven.
- Bake for five more minutes and if not yet browned, turn the heat up to broil just until golden on top.
- Remove and let cool slightly.
- Serve immediately or reserve and reheat quickly before serving.
Nutrition
More delicious appetizer recipes:
- Healthy green gazpacho
- Homemade cheese puffs
- Catalan coca recipe
- Veggies with romesco sauce
- Pinchos morunos (pork skewers)
What do you think? Will this ham wrapped asparagus recipe grace your table this spring? I hope so!
Pin Me!
Steve
Yikes!
Too salty@
Rex Hutcheson
The prosciutto and cheese make a great taste combination for the asparagus.
Bet
Fantastic recipe! I'm not a huge fan of asparagus, but this specific recipe made me completely rethink my preferences 🙂 Would recommend Lauren's recipe, 10/10!