Asparagus are the most awaited and loved vegetables of spring. Only in season for a very short time, between the months of April and May, asparagus is delicious, rich in nutritional properties, fiber and water, mineral salts and vitamins. Thanks to the presence of asparagine they have a strong diuretic effect and they contain very few calories. They are perfect on their own, simply boiled or to accompany second courses of meat or eggs, such as baked omelette with asparagus and cheese, but also to make delicious first courses such as cream of asparagus and baked pasta with asparagus and taleggio. Today we offer them to you in a recipe for a truly fabulous first course: la pasta with asparagus and baconvery creamy and tasty, to be prepared in a few minutes with a very easy recipe!

Preparazzjoni

1

Rinse the asparagus under running water. With a sharp knife, remove the final part of the stem, which is harder and woodier than the rest of the vegetable. If you have used wild asparagus you can leave them whole, about 10 cm long. If, on the other hand, you are using larger cultivated asparagus, you can cut them into pieces of about 2 cm. Set aside momentarily.

2

Place the bacon on a cutting board and, with a knife, remove the rind and the part with the pepper. Slice the bacon into strips of about 4-5 mm.

3

Divide the onion and peel only half of it. Chop the peeled half very finely. You can use white, golden or red onions.

4

Pour the 40 ml of extra virgin olive oil into a rather large non-stick pan with high edges.

5

Turn the heat to low and heat the oil for 1 minute. Also add the bacon.

6

Let the bacon brown for about 2 minutes, until it is golden and crispy.

7

With a slotted spoon remove the bacon and set aside in a bowl. Add the onion.

8

Fry the onion over low heat, stirring often, until it is wilted and softened and has taken on a golden colour.

9

Add the asparagus and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in the 200 ml of water and continue cooking for 10 minutes.

10

Add salt according to your personal taste. In the meantime, fill a pot with fresh water and place it on medium-high heat, you will need it to cook the pasta.

11

As soon as the water in the pan comes to a boil, add 1 teaspoon of coarse salt and pour in the pasta, regulating the cooking according to the time indicated on the package.

12

When the pasta is cooked, use a slotted spoon to retrieve it from the pot and drain it directly into the pan with the asparagus and onion.

13

Also add the bacon and leave it all on low heat, to let it infuse. Stir and continue cooking for 2 minutes.

14

If the pasta gets too dry, you can add a scant ladle of cooking water. Transfer to plates, season with pecorino or grated Parmesan and serve immediately.

Pariri u pariri

We used wild asparagus, very tasty and crunchy. If you can’t find wild asparagus you can buy cultivated asparagus at the supermarket or fruit and vegetable shop, cutting off the toughest part of the stem and, if you prefer, lightly peeling the stem to soften it during cooking.

You can reuse the hard part of the asparagus to create a creamy sauce to add to the pasta, scalding them in boiling water and blending them with a little cooking water with an immersion blender. This way your pasta with asparagus and bacon it will be even more creamy!

Pancetta purchased whole and then cut at the moment is very tasty and gives an edge to your dish. However, if you only have bacon already cut in the classic refrigerated counter packs, you can safely use it. You can use both spicy bacon and sweet baconaccording to your taste.

You can replace the bacon with it speck cut into matchsticksor with bacon. If, on the other hand, you want a vegetarian dish, omit it directly and add a little more pecorino romano for even more flavor.

With the same ingredients you can make a delicious risotto. You can take inspiration from risotto with artichokes and replace them with asparagus, adding the crispy bacon at the end, before creaming.

In our recipe we have chosen to use penne, but you can change the type of pasta, preferably choosing a short striped pasta format: rigatoni, mezze Maniche, fusilli, tortiglioni, maccheroni and sedani.

ħażna

You can store pasta with asparagus and pancetta in the refrigerator għal ġurnata l-aktarclosed in an airtight container. We advise against freezing it.