One of my all time favorites. I had some leftover asparagus and some serrano from a paninni recipe so what better way to use them both together?
Makes 16 spears
Ingredients
8 slices of serrano ham
16 asparagus spears
coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For Aioli sauce
1 large egg yolk at room temperature
1 TBs. of white vinegar or lemon juice
2 large garlic cloves
10 TBs. of extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°s;F
2. Place the egg yolk, vinegar, garlic into a food processor. Blend until smooth and with the motor still running, begin to add the olive oil.
3. Blend until the sauce emulsifies. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
4. Drizzle some olive oil on a roasting pan or heavy cookie sheet.
5. Cut the serrano pieces in half, lengthwise.
6. Trim the rough ends of the asparagus. I like to just snap them. Nature’s provided you the perfect snapping point. 
7. Wrap each asparagus spear with a slice of serrano.
8. Place the spears into the sheet or roasting pan, being careful not to crowd the pan.
9. Drizzle with olive oil and season with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
10. Roast for 10 mins. or so, depending on thickness of the asparagus.
11. Plate with Aioli dipping sauce.
Part of a Tapas Menu
Also try:
1. Spicy Potatoes
2. Salmon with Mojo sauce
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The second entry for the Food Play -1. Going to Spain this time with a great Serrano ham and paprika vinaigrette. Deb, from smittenkitchen.com actually gave me the idea of using the vinaigrette with potatoes. It’s the same dressing used in the Salad Sevillana recipe.
Ingredients
3 fresh day boat scallops
3 slices of serrano ham
2 cups of baby red and purple potatoes
3 TBs. of sherry vinegar or champage vinegar
1/4 cup of chopped shallots
1/4 cup of butter
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Paprika Vinaigrette:
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
1. For the vinaigrette, combine first 8 ingredients in blender or processor and blend until well combined and frothy. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
2. Place the potatoes in a medium sauce pan and fill with cold water to cover the potatoes. Add 1 TBs. of salt to water and boil until potatoes are just fork tender. Drain and cut into 1/4″ rounds. Toss with paprika vinaigrette to taste and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Preheat a medium pan on medium-high heat. Add 1 TBs. of olive oil and coat the pan.
4. Wrap the scallops with serrano ham and use a toothpick to secure the ham. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Saute the scallops 1-2 mins. per side depending on thickness. The scallops I had are 2″ thick so it was 2 mins. per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Keep the pan hot, deglaze with sherry vinegar and make sure to scrape up the little brown bits.
6. Add the shallots and saute for 2 mins.
7. Add the butter and keep the heat on until the butter begins to foam and turn a nutty brown color. Turn off heat.
Plating
1. Place a scallop on each plate and stack a mix of potato rounds.
2. Drizzle with paprika vinaigrette and brown butter sauce.
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8 slices of serrano ham
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