Asparagus with Smoked Ham and Lemon
Asparagus seems to have an affinity for smoked pork…. Bacon, prosciutto or in this case some fine Benton Ham. I added half a preserved lemon but you could also just use lemon juice. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1 lb asparagus, with the ends snapped off and stems peeled if it the stalks are big and woody (not needed in the pictured example)
2 oz (a couple thin slices) smoked ham or prosciutto, or 4 pieces of crisp bacon
1 T olive oil
½ lemon or 1 T lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste (be careful with the salt as the ham is already salty)
Method: if using ham, cut into bite size pieces and fry until crispy over medium heat, 5 minutes or less. Add asparagus and toss to coat the stalks. Depending on the thickness of the stalks, you might add a little water and cover and steam for a couple of minutes; if they young like the stalks in the picture you can skip this step and just sauté until tender but still crisp. When you are satisfied with the doneness, add lemon juice, salt and pepper. If using bacon, crumble over the asparagus just before serving. Serve hot.
Benton’s makes everything better, but do you find out of season asparagus OK? I’m locked into local summertime, or at least Ontario or New Jersey spears. No Chilean green pencils for me! Missing something? I do at times…
I may not be the best judge of perfectly fresh asparagus plucked from the garden. I recognize and avoid woody spears, but we’ve consistently had quality Mexican asparagus in our upstate NY markets at a very good price this winter with all other foods skyrocketing in cost. It may not be the best but it’s pretty good and makes your pee smell, which of course is the main consideration.
I will look for Mexican. Thy seem to have avocados under control. Also green…
I have asparagus in the crisper to roast….wish I had the Benton ham to go with it.
Works fine with bacon!
I did get some Mexican asparagus. Better than past experiments with Chilean.
Had to discard a lot of the lower parts. But, whatever… Opened my mind a crack.
I might have to try Chilean again too. And.
I’m having a Benton’s crisis! They offer a “Whole Hickory Smoked Country Ham Deboned and Trimmed” Not sliced. I didn’t t have a problem eating the sliced, but…
And a few other products too. Maybe I should just order bacon. Or, or…
I have always had to discard the lower parts I snap off the asparagus stem. My father in law grew asparagus in his yard but he got bored with it and dug up his patch before I ever got to try any. So maybe that will be my summer project: seek out perfectly fresh farmers market asparagus and spoil myself.
As to Benton’s, ordering the bacon by itself is a very expensive proposition because of shipping. The whole deboned ham product you describe is what I got last time by mistake. It is just a huge chunk of meat and I threw it in my spare refrigerator because I was intimidated. After it grew a good layer of mold I finally went at it. I slice a bit for a charcuterie platter, and sometimes a goodly thicker slice which I fry up to eat with eggs. Am getting more comfortable with it but if I could only order one product I’d still say the sliced ham. You get several packages so you won’t be overwhelmed at any one time, plus those wonderful bones and trim which are the same either way.
I ordered the deboned and trimmed. It shows shrink wrapped, but
the description says sliced.
https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=hschdt
I will suffer through however it comes 🙂
Plant your own asparagus, it’s perennial. Hard to establish.
Keep it away from the horseradish, which spreads.