Hello spring!!!
If you are looking for a gorgeous and simple Sunday brunch recipe for your Easter celebration, I have the perfect thing for you to try!
This recipe is found in Heroes’ Feast: The Official DND Cookbook, which as my regular subscribers know is one of my favorite, go to recipe books for all things nerdy and delicious!
These bacon wrapped asparagus or “Greenspear Bundles in Bacon” as Heroes’ Feast calls them are called a “preperation technique” created by half-elves, who are liberated from certain culinary taboos of their elven brethren.
No matter what you call them, they are a colorful and healthy option that really makes your Easter spread pop!
All you are going to need is:
- 2 pounds (about 32) medium-thick asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 slices of bacon
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh chives for garnish (optional)
This recipe serves 4, so if you are having a larger gathering, I’d recommend doubling it!
Directions:
- First, you are going to need to clean and snap your asparagus. If you have never done this before, have no fear brave adventurer! It is really simple! You hold the asparagus towards the non leafy end with both hands and simply “bend” the stalk until it snaps naturally. This will remove the tough end of the stalk leaving just the tender bit!
- Next you will need to coat your asparagus spears with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Since I was also entertaining vegetarians, I coated some extra asparagus and put them, loose, on a separate cookie sheet. They still turned out delicious and it was something my guests could enjoy too!
- Once they are good and coated, you will then wrap 4-5 spears in one slice of bacon. You will lay the bacon at an angle so that as you are wrapping, the bacon doesn’t completely overlap itself. The number of spears you wrap depends on how thick the stalks are. The recipe calls for medium-thick stalks, but the grocery store by me only had thinner ones. Because of this, I added an extra spear to my bundles.
- Then you will lay out your bacon wrapped asparagus on a cookie sheet, making sure the loose end of the bacon is on the bottom so it doesn’t come unraveled!
- Finally, you will pop the cookie sheet in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes.
One thing I noticed is that my bacon didn’t get as dark and crispy as I normally like it. I think it was an issue of the water from the fresh vegetables causing the bacon to steam or bake rather than brown as much as I like.
To overcome this, I plan on broiling the bacon wrapped asparagus for a couple minutes at the end, just to get the crispiness I enjoy. If you try this technique, let me know in the comments if it works for you!
Either way, the dish was a hit! It looked so beautiful on a serving dish and made for a healthy option that even the kids enjoyed!
As you are planning your Easter celebrations, look for simple things you can do like this to make the table a bit more special, and a little more nerdy!
Dice Mom 