Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus soldiers with Parmesan coddled eggs
Ingredients
- ASPARAGUS SOLDIERS
- 18 fresh asparagus spears
- 18 slices prosciutto
- olive oil, to drizzle
- PARMESAN CODDLED EGGS
- butter, softened, to grease
- 6 ramekins
- sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 90g Parmesan, freshly grated
- 6 eggs
- 90ml fresh cream
- 15ml (1 tbsp) fresh chives, chopped
- 15ml (1 tbsp) fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with foil.
For the asparagus soldiers, trim the woody ends off the asparagus and blanch the spears in boiling salted water until bright green and tender with crunch, 2 – 3 minutes. Refresh under cold water and drain on paper towel.
Wrap each asparagus spear in a slice of prosciutto, spiralling it from top to bottom. Place on the prepared baking tray, drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake until the prosciutto is crisp, about 8 minutes. Set aside.
For the Parmesan coddled eggs, generously grease the inside of the ramekins with butter. Sprinkle sea salt flakes and pepper evenly into each ramekin. Sprinkle 15ml (1 tbsp) Parmesan and break an egg into each ramekin. Spoon 15ml (1 tbsp) cream on top of each egg and sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan. Scatter with fresh herbs.
Place the ramekins into a large ovenproof dish and pour in enough boiling water until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover with foil and bake in the oven until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny, about 12 minutes.
To serve, place the coddled eggs onto serving plates and serve with the prosciutto-wrapped asparagus soldiers on the side.
