I just returned from a beautiful long weekend in Montalcino. 🙏 My cousin, Mia, and I were on the hunt for new artisan items for our little OIT shop (Stay tuned! Found some cool new artisan products as well as beautiful new items from our beloved artisans!). The weather was warm and dry – great for us but not so great for the vines craving water for the past few months.
Sunrise over Montalcino from my little balcony
It was so wonderful to be back in the village and to see friends old and new. ❤️ Our dear friend, Stefania manages to juggle a million things in a given day yet somehow always manages to find time to invite us to dinner. She turns out the most amazing, awe-inspiring dishes from her little kitchen. After a very long day of working, she literally served us a 3 course meal ❤️ #amazingwoman❤️. The first thing she served us was the most delicious and brilliant combination of asparagus topped with bacon (yes, you can find it in Italy!) and baked eggs. There wasn’t an asparagus spear in sight within minutes – so delicious!
This versatile dish would be awesome for brunch or as a light meal served with a salad or as Stefania served it, as an appetizer. I can see me tossing in some tomatoes or grating some fresh Parmigiano over the eggs, warm from the oven. It also happens to be keto and gluten free. Here I substituted pancetta for the bacon and have wrapped the asparagus spears to make them easier to pick up. You could use more pancetta should you desire (Is more pancetta ever a bad thing?) and you can simply layer the bacon or pancetta on top of the asparagus spears as Stefania did. Be sure to gently crack the eggs into the dish so as to not break the yolks. You could crack them into a small separate ramekin first to be super sure the yolk doesn’t break and then gently slide them onto the asparagus – but I prefer to let things fall as they may. If a yolk or two breaks (as did mine), it makes it even extra special!
With spring finally at our door and fresh asparagus in abundance, this one will be on repeat at our house for sure.
Buona primavera 🌱 ,
xx
Michele ❤️
PrintPancetta-wrapped Asparagus with Eggs
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
This simple but delicious pancetta-wrapped asparagus with eggs is super for a spring brunch, a light lunch or as an appetizer.
Ingredients
- About 1 pound of asparagus (1 bunch)
- 6 slices pancetta
- Olive oil
- Zest of ½ lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 eggs
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Trim off the woodsy ends of the asparagus. Divide into 6 bundles.
3. Loosely wrap 1 piece of pancetta around each of the bundles of asparagus. Place In a ceramic baking dish, approximately 7 ½ by 10 inches (does not have to be exact – use one large enough to hold the asparagus bundles and the eggs). Sprinkle with the lemon zest and a few grinds of pepper.
4. Bake until the asparagus is tender, and the pancetta is crispy, about 25 minutes depending on thickness of the pancetta and asparagus. Remove from oven. Maintain oven temperature.
5. Gently crack 6 eggs on top of the asparagus bundles. Place the dish back in the oven and cook another 4-7 minutes until the eggs are cooked through to your liking.
6. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley, a few more grinds of pepper and serve!
Looking forward to the first English Asparagus ( not long now ) and I will give this a go , I may use Duck eggs as I can get them locally . Keep the recipes coming please .
Ken – Grazie for taking the time to leave a message….and I bet this will be spectacular with duck eggs! Michele