grilled asparagus with burrata cheese

Ingredients:

2-3 bunches thin asparagus spears

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 balls of burrata cheese, brought to room temperature

Bottle of balsamic glaze

Directions:

Trim the asparagus spears right to where it is tender and bright green, discard the tough and woody lower portion.

Rinse and place in a microwavable dish. Fill the dish with a half-inch of water. Cover and microwave on high for two minutes until or until almost tender. Take care not to overcook, the spears should be underdone at this point. (Note you might need to cook the asparagus in batches and toss the asparagus halfway through the cooking time to ensure the spears cook evenly.)

Remove from the microwave and immediately drain the hot water, then cover the asparagus with ice and fill the dish with cold water to refresh.

When chilled through drain completely, wrap the spears in paper towel, place in a large Ziploc bag and refrigerate. (The asparagus can be cooked and refreshed earlier in the day).

Place your burrata in its container on the counter and allow to reach room temperature. Meanwhile preheat your grill to medium-high.

Remove the paper towel from the Ziploc bag. Toss the asparagus spears in the bag with the olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper.

Take care placing the spears over the hot coals, grill each side for one minute or just until light grill marks appear.

Remove the spears with tongs and place on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Tent loosely with foil and set aside at room temperature. (The asparagus can be grilled up to an hour and half ahead of time).

Right before serving preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the foil tent from baking sheet. Warm the asparagus in the oven for approximately three minutes.

Divide the warm spears onto six salad plates.

Remove the burrata cheese from its liquid and carefully cut each ball into six slices.

Place two slices on top of each bundle of asparagus, taking care that each has an equal amount of the creamy center.

Artfully drizzle the balsamic glaze over the sliced burrata and asparagus.

Serve immediately.

Serves 6 as a first course