wild asparagus + pancetta {bruschetta}

I love free food. Food I find. Food I grow. And especially food that people give me. That last one combines both receiving gifts (which is one of my favorite things) with something to eat.

This past week in I got to work a bit of everything into one recipe.

Jane and I headed up to Umbria for a few days last week. Since Jane is obsessed with foraging, she insisted we go out hunting for asparagus once we arrived. “It’s too late in the season,” I told her. But she was having none of it. In fact, before we even got to our house, as we drove off the main road, onto the dirt path that leads up the hill, she started driving real slow. In theory it was to avoid pot holes. In reality, I knew she was already looking out the car window for the bright green spears.

“You’re never going to find…” I managed to get out before the car came to an abrupt halt, and Jane jumped out of the car. “Got one! Hah!”

And so began two days of harvesting incredibly late-in-the-season, but still big-and-fat wild asparagus. I guess all the recent rain was good for something.

The gift part of the food equation happened when Domenico came home from the construction site where is currently working on the restoration of a farm house. “Look what the contractor gave me!” he yelled as he walked in the door with a huge, pre-historic looking slab of pancetta. Home cured by the contractor, of course.

So it was basically three days of various asparagus and pork combinations (with our own olive oil, which is the ‘growing it myself’ part).

The easiest – and maybe the best – recipe I came up with was this simple bruschetta. I’m not sure why, but up until now I’d never considered using pancetta for bruschetta. I guess mostly because I never had an entire slab of pancetta to play around with before.

While I used wild asparagus (which was fabulous) you can certainly use regular asparagus. Or any other veggie for that matter. In fact, I’m going to try this again with zucchini tonight. The key, in any variation, is crunchy, chewy bits of pancetta along with the pork fat soaking into the bread.

My current theory: everything tastes better with pancetta.

But I would say that, wouldn’t I? I have an entire slab of pancetta to work my way through.

 
bruschetta with wild asparagus and pancetta

6 slices of crusty Italian bread, cut about 1/2 inch thick
One bunch of wild asparagus, tender parts only*
1/2 cup cubed pancetta
olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
salt and pepper

*Or about three cups of any other kind of vegetable like zucchini, regular asparagus, peas, fave or even tender green beans

Heat a medium sized frying pan to medium and add the pancetta. Let it cook, until it’s given up the fat and has become crisp. Remove from the fat with a slotted spoon and place in a small bowl. (Not on a paper towel. You want to retain all that good pork fat!)

Add cut up asparagus to rendered pancetta fat in the pan, and stir. Sprinkle with salt (how much will depend on how salty your pancetta is) and pepper. Cook, adding a bit of water if necessary. Cook until tender. Add the pancetta, with its juices, back into the pan and stir.

Toast the bread, over an open fire if possible. If not, then over the flames of your cook top, or in a toaster.

While bread is still hot, rub with garlic and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Divide asparagus mixture between the slices of bread and serve.