I love Spring veggies. This is the perfect time of year to enjoy thin, tender, crisp asparagus. Bacon and pancetta are a great accompaniment to these delicious little gems. Here’s a recipe I use all the time:
1 bunch asparagus spears about 20 spears
2 TB olive oil
20 slices pancetta sliced into strips salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 425. Place your baking tray in the oven to heat up.
Remove the fibrous and tough base of the spears.
Toss the asparagus in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Coat them well.
Wrap each spear in pancetta. Set them on a plate seam side down.
Remove the hot pan from the oven and quickly place your spears on the pan, seam side down. You want to hear the sizzling sound.
Bake for 8-14 minutes depending on the thickness of the asparagus/
Actually any thin sliced ham works would probably work very well. Asparagus is $1.49/lb right now. They limit you to 5 lbs. I like the big fat stalks, although sometimes they have a fibrous skin and I have to peel them (don’t ask).
Julia Child peeled her asparagus. another plus is that you can eat them further down. I always get medium to large sized ones, I think they taste better.
