Ham & asparagus roll-ups with cheddar cheese sauce

 Not feeling like eating so much, I only wanted to make something simple, plain and quick. I asked my fiance if he had any suggestion or if he wanted to eat anything special. My fiance told me to cook anything I liked, and he would eat everything. Looking into my fridge, seeing some slices of ham in the chill room, some fresh asparagus in the veggie room, I thought this dish would bring back my appetite. 

So, I only made this dish for my quick dinner. Nothing else. We did enjoy the meal and finished them very quickly, then returned back to our everyday’s tasks we had to finish before the day ended. 

These roll-ups  were very interesting to eat. The asparagus were still juicy, crunchy and fresh. After being baked for a short time in the oven, the ham slices became a little drier and more chewy. What a wonderful combination of the texture! Serving together with cheddar sauce was perfect as well. Just a small issue that the sauce was too much for us and we only finished half of it. These roll-ups can be eaten with the sauce poured over them or you may want to keep the sauce separately and dip the rolls in after each bite. So, if you prefer less sauce, just reduce the ingredients for making the sauce. And enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 4)

- 700g asparagus spears

- 8 ham slices

- 2 tbs butter

- 2 tbs plain flour

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 cup milk

- 1 cup grated cheddar

Cooking:

- Preheat oven at 190C (375F)

- Trim the asparagus, rinse and cook in boiling salted water until just cooked. Drain. 

- Use each ham slice to wrap 5-6 asparagus spears and put on a baking tray. Continue with the rest of the asparagus and ham. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. 

- Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and salt, stir constantly. Gradually pour in the milk, stir continuously until the mixture becomes thick and smooth. Stir in the cheddar until melted. Remove from heat. 

- Pour the sauce over the asparagus or just serve separately.