Swich | Recipes - Pancetta Wrapped Asparagus

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Pancetta Wrapped Asparagus

When in season this is a great side and the sauce is so good you’ll wish you made more. You’ll practice blanching asparagus, wrapping it in pancetta, and building a quick pan sauce with tomatoes, olives, and white wine.

Serves 1 | Active Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes
Chef's Notes

If your like me you’ll love this sauce so you’ll add more tomatoes, butter and wine so you have enough to go over a nice piece of grilled chicken. Enjoy.

Step 1: Mise en Place
  • 1 lb asparagus
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil
  • 12 cherry tomtoes
  • 12 calamata olives

Break of the woody end of the asparagus.

This dish cook pretty quick so it’s best to get everything else ready. Wash the tomatoes and basil.

If your olives still have their pit remove them now.

Step 2: Blanch Asparagus
  • 1 tbps salt
  • 150 g pancetta

You don’t want to completely cook the asparagus just blanch them quick for about 2 minutes in salted boiling water. Have an ice bath ready and plunge them in to stop the cooking process. Take them out after a minute and dry them off. Now we’re ready to wrap each stalk in a piece of pancetta.

Step 3: Cooking the Asparagus
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Heat your pan over medium high heat. When it’s hot add the oil and the wrapped asparagus. After a few minutes or when the pancetta has a nice color you can turn everything over.

Turn down the heat to medium and let cook till the asparagus is tender. Since we already blanched them this won’t take long.

Step 4: Flavor Base for Sauce
  • 12 whole cherry tomatoes
  • 12 whole kalamata olives
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
  • parmesan cheese

When your asparagus is done to your liking remove it from the pan.

Add the tomatoes and olives and let them warm up. The tomatoes will be ready to burst really quick so use a fork to apply pressure to help them pop and release all there juice.

De glaze with the wine before the pancetta burns and add the butter. You could plate right from here but I prefer a richer sauce.

Step 5: Finishing the Sauce
  • parmeasan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp cream

Add the cream and tear up the basil, let it warm for only a minute then check the seasoning. The pancetta is quite salty so don’t add any more salt till you’ve tasted the sauce.

Plate the asparagus and pour the sauce over them. Grate some fresh Parmesan over the finished dish.

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