Thank you Show-Me St. Louis and camera-coach Jim Viehman for a fun afternoon in Eckert’s Cooking Classroom! It was my pleasure to prepare two recipes for Show Me which will air on Friday, April 18^th.  A big thank you to Eckert’s culinary stage crew, Lana Shepek and our Dietetic Intern, Rachel,  from Southeast Missouri State for helping me set up my culinary “stage” for the filming.

In celebration of homegrown asparagus season which is just around the corner, I made Oven-Roasted Asparagus Bundles with lemon, butter and herbs. This recipe is fun way to experiment with a variety of fresh herbs. I tucked a different herb sprig into each asparagus pouch before baking. The fun part of this recipe is comparing and contrasting the ways different herbs contribute to the baked asparagus.

Have some flavorful fun at a dinner party by serving each bundle separately so that your guests can vote on their favorite flavor combination. For those of you cooking for Easter gatherings, here is a make ahead tip. Simply prepare your pouches a day or two in advance and pop them in the oven a few minutes before your meal.

Eat well this Spring! Angie

P.S. I will share the second Show-Me St. Louis recipe next week :) Stay tuned!!

Oven-Roasted Asparagus Bundles (in parchment)

42 stalks of asparagus
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
6 slices lemon
3 Tbs unsalted butter, divided
Kosher salt
6 herb springs (thyme, chives or parsley) optional
6 pieces of Parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Trim ends of asparagus. Divide stalks into 6 groups of 7 among the pieces of parchment paper. Place 1 lemon slice and 1 smashed garlic clove on top of each asparagus grouping. Top each grouping with herb sprig , ½ tablespoon butter and salt. Fold paper over the asparagus and seal to close. Fold down ends of paper and tuck under. Bake bundles 12-15 minutes; allow bundles to rest a few minutes before serving.

Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto

With the warm temperatures, everything is ripening a little sooner than normal. That means, we should have homegrown asparagus in the store in about a week or so. I can't wait! There are so many tasty ways to prepare asparagus - this is one of the Eckert Family's Favorites!

Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto

2 lbs medium asparagus, trimmed
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 oz Volpi Prosciutto Ham, cut in half

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Toss asparagus with oil, salt and pepper in a shallow baking dish. Wrap a piece of Prosciutto around 2 spears of uncooked asparagus. Arrange wrapped asparagus in one layer. About half way through roasting, turn asparagus. Total baking time is 10-14 minutes.