Asparagus wrapped with prosciutto is such a spectacular combination: great appetizer or tapas dish. When served with this earthy mushroom cream sauce pasta, a deeply satisfying main course is the result.
24slicesprosciutto1 per asparagus spear or 1/2 if they are big enough
Instructions
Rinse the dried mushrooms, then soak in 2 cups warm water for 1 hour.
Drain the dried mushrooms, retaining the water
Wash the other mushrooms and dice, setting aside the stems
Individually rinse the dried mushroom pieces to remove grit (grit can ruin a dish)
Any pieces of dried mushroom that appear tough or stubbornly gritty, add to the mushroom stems. Add the good bits to the chopped mushrooms
Too a large saucepan, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 coarsely chopped onion, 5 cloves crushed garlic, carrot, bell pepper, mushroom stems.
Saute the vegetables until onion is transparent
Add the broth the dried mushrooms were rehydrated in, and hot water.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an 40 minutes.
Prepare the asparagus, wrapping the prosciutto around them. Not too much prosciutto per spear, as it is quite salty and smoky.
Strain the veggie stock through fine gauze filter
Saute the diced mushrooms, diced onion, and diced garlic until starting to brown
Add 2 cups of the veggie stock and the glass of wine to the mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes
Allow to cool a little, then transfer to a suitable container and blend using a hand blender. (Alternatively use a tabletop blender, but pulse blend to retain some chunkiness)
Return mushroom mixture to the pan and add the cream and pepper. Bring back to a simmer.
Cook the pasta until al dente. Stop cooking when it is still a little firm, as it will cook some more in the mushroom sauce
While the pasta is cooking, saute the prosciutto wrapped asparagus.
Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the mushroom sauce. Retain some of the pasta cooking liquid in case you need to water it down a bit.
Turn off the heat, add the parsley and truffle oil and gently combine.
Serve with a mixed green salad and delectabilia dressing