Asparagus, pesto and bacon wraps - Uvijene špargle sa slaninom i lisnatim testom
All over the Balkan there is a tradition of serving so many various appetizers on the table before having first course meal. Appetizers usually consist of Proja - corn bread, Kajmak - a typical spread made of milk, Ajvar - a sauce made of roasted eggplant and pepper, slices of prosciutto, and different kinds of sausages and cheeses. This is a MUST, or if you prefer, the base of traditional appetizers.
It's also part of a tradition to put on the table all kind of pies filled with cheese, vegetables, minced meat, potatoes and colorful rolls and salty cakes, and also Russian salad, chicken salad, sesame salad, Mimosa salad... Some of these I will share with you on my blog.
What I like to add are appetizers which I've seen in the magazines or those I've created using the ingredients I had in my house at the moment. When I came to Italy and started living with my husband I had the possibility to try some vegetables that were completely new for me at that time, such as Roman cauliflower, artichoke, and asparagus.
I really liked the taste of the asparagus and I've started thinking of all sorts of ways I could prepare it. One of the recipes I came across was the one I'm sharing with you now.
Here's what you need:
- 1 package of puff pastry - 1 bunch of asparagus - about 10 strips of bacon - a few spoons of pesto sauce - a bit of grated parmesan cheese - 1 egg
Preparation:
Stretch the puff pastry and then cut it into equal squares. In every square put the spoon of pesto sauce then sprinkle it with a bit of parmesan cheese.
Cook the asparagus, and after they're done take two of them and wrap with a slice of bacon. Place the wrapped asparagus over the pesto and the cheese diagonally, like in the picture. Coat the edges of the pastry with the egg white and fold the ends towards the center. Press it with the fork and coat the surface of the pastry with the egg yolk.
Bake them in a preheated oven at about 180C until they become golden brown. Enjoy!
Još od malena sam imala običaj da više jedem i pritom uživam u raznim predjelima koja su neizostavno krasila svaku Slavsku ili bilo koju drugu svečanu trpezu u našoj kući. Sećam se da smo kao klinci na svadbama i ispraćajima jedva čekali da se ponovo služi suhomesnato i razni sirevi, proja, ajvar, po nama ukusniji i od sarme, pečenja i svih onih đakonija Balkanske kuhinje. :) Od kada sam se preselila u Rim imala sam priliku da isprobam neka nova predjela i usvojim nove tehnike, pa čak i probam neko povrće ili voće koje mi je do tada bilo prava nepoznanica.
Tako sam na primer probala špargle po prvi put u Italiji, i zaista mi se toliko dopao ukus da sam počela da istražujem sve moguće načine na koje bih mogla pripremiti ovo delikatno povrće.
Upravo sam tako i pronašla ovo predjelo u jednom italijanskom kuvaru i od tada ga stalno spremam.
Ako vam se dopada kako zvuči i želeli biste da probate nešto novo, evo recepta :)
Potrebno je:
- 1 paket lisnatog testa - 1 vezica špargli - oko 10 lenti slanine - nekoliko kašika pesto sosa - malo rendanog parmezana ili kačkavalja - 1 jaje
Priprema: Razvucite lisnato testo, a zatim ga isecite na jednake kvadrate. Na svaki kvadrat staviti kašiku pesto sosa, pa ga onda pospite sa malo parmezana ili kačkavalja. Skuvati špargle (oko 7-8 min), nakon što su se skuvale uzeti dve špargle i zavijte ih lentom slanine. Postavite umotane špargle preko pesto sosa i sira dijagonalno, kao na slici. Premazati unutršnje ivice testa belancem pa onda presavijte krajeve prema centru. Pritisnite sa viljuškom pa premažite površinu peciva žumancem. Pecite ih u rerni zagrejanoj na oko 180C dok nedobiju lepu rumenu boju.
Služiti toplo. Prijatno!
