Asparagus time, time for tasty and easy recipes with this wonderful seasonal vegetable. The bread and potato balls stuffed with asparagus and smoked bacon are a delicious egg-free finger food, to be prepared for a snack, as an appetizer, to accompany aperitifs, and so on. They are oven-baked but are good, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside as if they were fried. Ideal recipe for using up leftover stale bread, vegetables, cheese, or cold cuts.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 25-30
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring
Ingredients
- 9 oz Asparagus
- 7 oz Bread crumbs (also gluten-free)
- 9 oz Boiled potatoes
- to taste Fine salt
- to taste Pepper
- 3.5 oz Smoked bacon
Preparation
1) After removing the waste parts from the asparagus, boil them in already boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain them, let them cool slightly, and chop them coarsely into chunks.
2) Meanwhile, also boil the potatoes with their skin. When warm, peel them and mash them with a potato masher.
3) In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, half of the mashed potatoes, the very finely chopped bread crumbs, bacon cubes, salt, and pepper. Mix all the ingredients and add the rest of the mash little by little, until you get a soft mixture that’s easy to shape. If the mixture is still too hard, add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to it.
4) Preheat the oven to 392°F (200°C). Meanwhile, form the balls and place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper as you go. Once you’ve finished forming the balls, brush them with a little extra virgin olive oil and bake them in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden.
