Name: Absurdly Addictive Asparagus
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 ounces pancetta, cut into 3/8 inch to 1/4 inch dice; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced into 2 inch pieces on the bias; 1 1/4 cups leek, thinly sliced crosswise (white and pale green parts only); 2 cloves garlic, minced; Zest of one lemon; 1 teaspoon orange zest; 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts; 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped (more to taste); Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Recipes
Side

Photo by Rocky Luten

Test Kitchen-Approved
Your Best Asparagus Recipe Contest Winner

Author Notes

I guess there's a reason Vosges Haut-chocolat Bacon and Chocolate bars are growing in popularity...it just seems that when you add bacon to almost anything, the salty smokiness heightens the other ingredients. Bacon may rule, but its Italian cousin, Pancetta, is also a contender for the crown. Take a garden fresh ingredient like asparagus and pair it with pancetta and you instantly get Snap, Crackle, Crisp all in one bite. There's something about the bite-size pieces of tender crisp asparagus, buttery leeks, crackly pancetta, and delicately crunchy pinenuts that make it somehow hard for me to stop eating this easy to prepare dish. I tried adding Parmigiano Reggiano at the end, but it overpowered the citrus. After testing the delectable sugar cookie finalist recipes with MonkeyMom tonight, I have to wonder if the number 52 will be even more symbolic when it represents the number of pounds we've gained by the end of the year. Apparently, Asparagus isn't the only thing I'm addicted to— Food52 is rapidly becoming a habit, too. (Sorry for the lack of a photo— the camera is out of commission this week...) —kaykay

Test Kitchen Notes

The title pretty much says it all. With her recipe, kaykay takes an already promising set of ingredients and artfully combines them in such a way that the resulting dish exceeds the sum of its parts. 2-inch lengths of asparagus, crisp-tender to the bite, take center stage in a savory tangle of leeks, pancetta, garlic, orange zest, parsley and pine nuts. The rendered fat from the pancetta, along with a knob of butter, is just enough to keep the vegetables from being dry without smothering the fresh flavors. The recipe is supposed to serve 4, but we could easily imagine polishing off an entire pan by ourselves. - A&M —The Editors

Watch This Recipe

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 ounces pancetta, cut into 3/8 inch to 1/4 inch dice
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced into 2 inch pieces on the bias
1 ¹/₄ cups leek, thinly sliced crosswise (white and pale green parts only)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped (more to taste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In This Recipe

Directions

In a large non-stick pan, sauté pancetta, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until crisp and lightly golden.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter to pan. Add asparagus pieces and leek and sauté until asparagus is tender crisp, about 3-4 minutes.
Add garlic, lemon and orange zest, toasted pine nuts and parsley and sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and salt and serve immediately.

Tags:

Contest Entries

Your Best Asparagus Recipe

See Reviews

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Elizabeth Detrich
Rey Compañeros
Rebecca Kurzendoerfer
Cheryl
Sandy

Review

Popular on Food52

310 Reviews

Elizabeth D. September 9, 2019

Delicious recipe, given the ham was salty and greasy, I didn't add butter or salt. In fact, for the amount of panchetta, I doubled the asparagus and found it delicious. It's a delightful lunch over gluten-free pasta.
One hint is the asparagus cooks quickly, have all your ingredients ready before starting. I slightly over cooked the asparagus getting the other ingredients ready. In all - it's a delicious recipe!
I brought if over to a friend's house for Thanksgiving and was asked to bring it back subsequent holidays. It's a hit where ever I bring it!

Rey C. August 26, 2019

Wow. Where’s the disconnect? I hoped this was going to be one that sent me over the moon. Instead I got sent over to “meh”. In saying that though, I guess I’ve learned that I love grilled asparagus more than any combination of beautiful ingredients.

Sonlyka May 4, 2019

I hate asparagus! But I made this as a side dish for our anniversary dinner because my husband loves asparagus. I inhaled it! It was amazing! It’s the only asparagus that I will eat. Thank you for making something so gross amazing 😉

linded April 21, 2019

My pancetta was very lean and meaty, and didn’t yield much fat. I’d use half as much next time. Used olive oil instead of butter because I wanted to serve it room temp. Delicious with the leeks, pine nuts and citrus zest. Everyone loved it, but the meaty pancetta made it richer than I wanted. Will make again.

Rebecca K. March 30, 2019

Even though I saved this recipe years ago, I decided to use it for the first time last night with company who said they liked asparagus. Didn't have pancetta on hand but did have a strip of crispy bacon from the night before and crumbled that in instead. Dear God, where have you been all my life? Absolutely amazing.

Cheryl March 29, 2019

Delicious! I used only lemon zest and (embarrassed to say) didn't have fresh garlic so used a little garlic powder. Made it vegan with no pancetta and vegan butter. Ate 1/3 of it myself and that was with restraint! Will at least double next time. Thank you!

Cheryl March 30, 2019

Since I didn't have the fat from the pancetta, used a bit of Avocado oil. Perhaps next time I'll use olive oil as it would be more flavorable.

Cheryl March 26, 2019

Tried this tonight. Based on reviews, I cut the orange in half. I don't think it was necessary and would keep the original amount next time I cook this. I made a couple adjustments. I took the pancetta out of the pan and drained it on a paper towel so it would stay crisp. I got rid of half the bacon grease because I thought there was way too much with the addition of butter. I did not add the pine nuts or pancetta with the parsley, garlic, lemon and orange peel. Instead, I served the asparagus/leeks topped with pancetta and pine nuts. We loved it. Pancetta was nice and crisp and the nuts did not get lost or overpowered by the garlic and peels. This will definitely become part of our asparagus rotation while it is in season. May use method, as suggested, with other veggies as well.

Maria March 25, 2019

I tried this last night and it was outstanding! Next time I will try the very same recipe with quartered brussel sprouts.

Sandy March 24, 2019

Looks wonderful. But what is that music? Love it!!

OldGrayMare March 24, 2019

Have been making this since recipe first came out on Food52 blog....has never failed to wow. First time I made it, it never made it to the table....”Ed! You have to come try this right now!” We snarfed it down standing at the stove!

Juds July 28, 2018

Made it last night for the family and it was amazing. Will make it again and again!

Juds July 28, 2018

Drained the pancetta of it's fat before adding the asparagus

Ryan O. July 21, 2018

I could imagine using fresh green beans for this recipe as well. Very good.

Ron O. June 14, 2018

Tried this recipe and loved it. I added a sprinkling of asiago cheese just before serving. Just the finishing touch to an excellent dish!

Julie April 1, 2018

Like the others, we found this recipe too heavy. Next time I'm planning to drain the pancetta fat and omit the butter before moving on to the asparagus/leek sautee step; the fat all around is too much on the fresh asparagus. Also, it needed a hit of acid (I did a splash of red wine vinegar at the end) to really cut the fat. It has major potential, it just needs tweaking.

cookinalong March 31, 2018

We love asparagus, so I jumped on this right away. But after doggedly trying this several times as written, this was still not winner for us. I've now dropped the orange zest and increased the amt. of lemon, and that was the breakthrough for us. We just found the orange zest a little off-putting. But the orange free version is now a springtime favorite!

ontilt April 3, 2018

Ironically, I must have mis-read the recipe and have never cooked this with orange, and instead, always with lemon. It's been a fave for quite some time due to our own mis-read.

Don December 17, 2017

Made this last night and found it to be just good and not great. I used a really good pancetta which rendered so much fat that maybe there was too much oil. Didn't hate it, but didn't love it.

bitememore May 16, 2017

This sounds like such a good recipe. I personally love my asparagus with parmesan : http://www.bitememore.com/feedme/52/parmesan-crusted-asparagus-recipe

Danielle February 22, 2017

I made this a ton using chard instead of asparagus. So good.

NancyJ February 19, 2017

Made this last night and, mindful of the comments, made sure to measure the orange zest - and used a smallish lemon. FANTASTIC. DH and I polished off 3/4 of a pound of asparagus and he is not a big vegetable fan. I poured off most of the bacon drippings to use in roasted potatoes so it was a bit lighter. Tip - use fresh asparagus, the day it comes home from the store - that may have been the kicker.

Curlytexan July 31, 2016

Definitely not a family favorite with my crew. The orange zest overpowered the dish.