Air-Fryer Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

The appeal of bacon-wrapped asparagus is mathematical. You take a vegetable that some adults still treat as an imposition (asparagus, fine, virtuous) and you wrap it in a substance literally nobody disputes (bacon, joy itself). The net effect is that asparagus becomes the most popular vegetable in the room — pulled off platters by people who would otherwise leave it on the plate. It is a small deception, but a useful one.

The technique is straightforward. Trim the asparagus, take a slice of streaky bacon, wrap it in a tight spiral up the length of the spear, then air-fry at 400°F. The bacon crisps and shrinks, locking itself in place; the asparagus inside steams just enough to lose its woody crunch but stay snappy. Twelve minutes, no flipping necessary. The photo shows the finished platter on a yellow grid linen — about ten spears, fanned out, with a small bowl of dukkah-style spice mix on the side for dipping.

The dukkah is the optional flourish that pushes this from "side dish" to "the thing people make conversation about." It's a mix of toasted sesame seeds, cumin, coriander, and pistachios — Egyptian in origin, endlessly snackable, the kind of thing you make once and then put on everything for a week.