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Asparagus with Pancetta

Cured pork products get on well with our beloved spears, bacon and pancetta especially. Although it is not especially easy to eat, requiring fingers and forks, a rubble of cooked, chopped pancetta, and especially its melted fat, makes a gorgeous seasoning for a fat bunch of spears.

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Boil a bundle of asparagus until it is just tender. Drain it carefully, then lay the spears in a shallow baking dish. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

    Step 2

    Melt a generous slice of butter in a shallow pan and fry a handful of diced pancetta, or mildly smoked bacon if that is what you have, until its fat is golden. Spoon it, and the butter, over the asparagus, then sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan. Bake for ten minutes, until the cheese has melted.

Tender
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