Thank you, thank you, thank you for your heartfelt warm wishes.
I feel so loved and I really appreciate your comments. They warmed my heart.
I had so much fun at our wedding. I married the man I adore and celebrated with the people that matter most to me. (Photos are on Nava's kitchen FB page)
I feel blessed.
But now it’s back to business and the first thing on the agenda is this delicious asparagus wrapped in turkey breast, topped with cherry tomatoes and strawberries soaked in Balsamic vinegar and honey. I can guarantee you that this scrumptious delight won’t disappoint.
Sometimes, when I cook, I like to be spontaneous, especially when fruits and vegetables are on special. So, when I was doing our grocery shopping and saw that asparagus was on super special, I bought up big.
I thought, surely I can do something yummy with this. As soon as I walked past the deli, the thick luscious slices of turkey breast caught my eye and I knew what I needed to make. I could picture how it was going to look and I got super excited.
I raced back to the veggie section like a little kid running down the aisle about to get their treat. I bought a punnet of strawberries and two punnets of tricoloured Cherrie tomatoes.
I don’t know about you but when I get an idea in my head, I have to make it and it has to be NOW!
I drove back home, ran up three flights of stairs and called out to my partner, “I’m making a delicious lunch so get ready!”
I was drooling, everything looked and smelt so good. I was so chuffed at how it turned out, it looked spectacular. I called my beloved and said; “look what I made for lunch, does that look good or what?” To which he answered, “Yes, darling, it looks so good that I’m taking a punt and I’m grabbing three at once.”
Boy, was I insulted I was ready to call off the wedding, what do you mean taking a punt, you sound like I’m learning to cook and you are trying to encourage me. Do you know how many people would love to eat my cooking! (Okay, I can be a little sensitive and a bit melodramatic) and you say you’re taking a punt. Give it back I don’t want you to suffer in case it sucks….
The poor man didn’t know what hit him, and if he liked them or not he ate all three wraps quick smart and declared they were exquisitely delicious and I allowed the wedding take place the following week.
I loved this dish so much I have made it several times for lunch and dinner that I now need to give it a nice long break.
This tasty brunch/lunch meal is not only fancy-shmancy looking, it’s very easy to make.
The subtle salty flavours complement the subtly sweet flavour of roasted asparagus and homemade balsamic glaze YUUUUUUMBO
Some helpful notes:
Buy thick spears they don’t bend or break easily when you wrap them
Make sure that the turkey breast slices are thick and are intact, this way they won’t split when you wrap the spears
Wrapping three spears at once is a pain and very fiddley. I almost gave up and was going to use two but I’m stubborn and I was determined to show that asparagus who was the boss.
I recommend to wrap two spears at a time (this way you will only need 14 spears). But if you are stubborn like me go ahead and wrap three but don’t say I didn’t warn you!
To get a crispy asparagus I roasted the wrapped spears for 25min in my oven.
If you follow notes there'll be nothing left
Strawberry topping
Ingredients
1 punnet Fresh strawberries
2 tablespoon sugar or honey (I used honey)
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Method
Start off by making the strawberry and balsamic vinegar topping.
Add to a medium-size bowl honey or sugar, balsamic vinegar and give it a good whisk, making sure the vinegar, sugar/honey are thoroughly combined. Set aside.
Rinse and pat dry strawberries, cut off their tops and cut them into quarters.
Add strawberries to the bowl and gently mix them with the balsamic and sugar / honey.
Let the strawberry mixture sit in the fridge while you prepare the asparagus and cherry tomatoes.
You can leave the strawberry mixture on the kitchen bench for 20 minutes or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
Take the strawberries out of the fridge 15 minutes before use.
Asparagus wrap
Ingredients
7 thick slices of Turkey breast
21 (or 14, see note above) thick spears of fresh asparagus
70g finely grated Parmesan
A few tablespoons of capers (optional)
Olive Oil spray
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200C
Line a baking tray with baking paper
Cut off the tough bits at the bottom of the asparagus
Rinse and pat dry asparagus
Spray asparagus lightly with olive oil spray
Place a slice of turkey on your work bench, sprinkle 10g of parmesan cheese all over turkey breast. Scatter a few capers. Place two spears at the edge of the turkey next to each other, then place the third spear on top. wrap the turkey around the three spears then roll them.
Place the wrapped spears on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until you have used up all the turkey and all the spears.
Spray the turkey and spears with oil. Place in the oven and Roast for 20-25min
Cherry tomato Topping
Ingredients
500g tricoloured cherry tomatoes cut in half
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper according to taste
Method
Pre-heat oven to 200C
Line a baking tray with baking paper
Add all of the above ingredients into a bowl and give them a good stir making sure the tomatoes are coated with oil, salt, pepper and garlic.
Spread tomatoes on the prepared tray and roast for 10-15min (I roasted mine for 15 min)
Place a sieve on top of a small pot. Take strawberries out of the fridge and place in the sieve, letting the liquid drain into the pot.
Transfer strawberries into a bowl and set aside.
Bring the vinegar mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vinegar thickens and is reduced: about 5 minutes.
The vinegar mixture will reduce and will become glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Glaze should be similar to honey consistency.
Please note that the glaze continues to cook and reduce after it’s taken off the stove to cool down. So take it off the heat immediately to let it cool down.
You'll know it's done when the simmering bubbles linger on the surface of the vinegar instead of immediately popping. Keep an eye on it, it's a small amount and will thicken quickly.
Garnish
3-4 tablespoons capers
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Balsamic glaze
Assembly
Transfer ready asparagus rolls onto a serving platter. Spoon tomatoes and strawberries on top.
Scatter capers and sprinkle parmesan cheese.
Drizzle balsamic glaze all over and serve.