Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon! Yeah, you could say I like it. A bit. Kinda. It's the reason I'm not a vegetarian. Whatever.

Bacon is a treat food for me.  For a lot of reasons, it's just not something I buy often. But every now and then, I just gotta have it. Like when I bought some beautiful local asparagus, and all I could think about was how delicious it would be wrapped in bacon.  Then I couldn't get the thought of it out of my head and I had Other Half make a special trip to the store, just for bacon.

The concept behind this is simple. Bacon. Asparagus. Wrapped. Done. The flavour behind this is so much more than that. The asparagus is perfectly al dente and the "leafy" end gets amazingly crispy and delicious.  The bacon is salty and meaty and chewy and crispy. Together, they become the thing that disappears fastest.

prepped

ready!

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
1 bunch asparagus
1/2 pound bacon, approximately (you'll need one slice per mini-bunch)
extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Chop ends off of asparagus
3. Gather into mini bunches. I tried bunches of 2 and 3, and my preference for the bacon to asparagus ratio was 3 per bunch, but you can play around with this a lot if you like
4. Wrap one piece of bacon around each bunch. I found the easiest way to do this was the get the bacon going on a slight diagonal and the spin the asparagus and the work is done for you.
5. Line up each bunch on a parchment lined backing sheet, sprinkle the ends of the asparagus with olive oil, and sprinkle everything with the black pepper
6. Cook for approximately 20-22 minutes, flipping half-way.
7. After the bacon is cooked through, turn the oven to broil and let broil for about 2-3 minutes to help crisp it up.
8. Enjoy!