Balsamic Greens in a Blanket

Part of Elfriede Shrempf's entry in Iron Chef SA 028:Balsamic Battle

One thing I love is bacon wrapped asparagus so I decided to cook them and top them off with a balsamic glaze for the first course. I was surprised at how well the glaze went with the dish.

Ingredients:

Asparagus

• Bundle/Pack of Asparagus, cleaned and with the ends cut off • 6 Slices of Bacon • Ground Pepper

Balsamic Glaze

• 1 quarter onion minced • 3 Slices bacon chopped • ½ cup Balsamic vinegar • ½ cup beef broth • 2 tsp. cornstarch

Method

Asparagus Preparation:

Heat the oven to 400 F. Wrap a bundle of 3-5 cleaned asparagus with one piece of bacon, the tighter the better . Sprinkle with pepper.

Place on baking dish and cook for 20-25 minutes (until crispy).

Glaze Preparation:

Brown the chopped bacon and onion in a small pan.

Add balsamic vinegar and simmer 5 minutes. Whisk beef broth and cornstarch then add to pan.

Simmer 2 more minutes (be sure to bring to boil first) to thicken sauce.

When the asparagus are done take them out of oven and place on a paper towels to drain the grease. Then top with the warm glaze. There should be plenty of glaze so be sure to save some for the second course!