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Poached Eggs with Asparagus, Pancetta and Parmesan recipe. Venice, Italy. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.
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5 from 3 votes

Poached Eggs, Asparagus, Pancetta and Parmesan recipe

This is a genius dish. The soft yolk of the poached egg acts like a sauce for the asparagus, the pancetta adds a salty flavour and some texture with its crunch, and the parmesan cheese rounds out the flavours.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 2
Calories: 525kcal
Author: Terence Carter

Ingredients

  • 2 extra large farm fresh free range eggs if you’re famished you can use 2 eggs per person
  • 1 bunch of fresh asparagus I usually allow about 6 pieces per person
  • 50 grams Pancetta the really thinly sliced variety
  • 1 handful grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • A few ice cubes

Instructions

  • Bring a pasta pot of water to a good rolling boil. Add a good pinch of salt.
  • Trim the stalks of your asparagus. The best way to tell when you’re at the start of the less ‘woody’ part of the asparagus is to let your knife ‘fall’ onto the asparagus as you go up the stem. When the knife leaves a little ‘cut’ in the asparagus, that’s the place to trim it.
  • Fill a bowl large enough to hold the asparagus with water and add the ice cubes. We want the asparagus to stop cooking as soon as we pull them out of the boiling water. This helps keep the colour a nice bright green too.
  • Add the asparagus to the pasta pot. If you have the thin variety of asparagus leave them in for one minute. The thick variety leave in the water for two minutes.
  • When the time is up, transfer the asparagus to the bowl with the ice cubes.
  • Put a grill pan on full heat and add the pancetta. You want the pancetta to be crispy, so don’t be shy with the heat. When the pancetta is almost starting to burn it should be quite crispy. Transfer to a plate with some paper towels on it to soak up some of the fat.
  • Leaving the grill pan on, pat dry and add the asparagus.
  • In a deep sauté pan filled near the brim with water, bring the water to the boil, and then turn the heat down until you have a light boil, with bubbles coming to the surface like you get with water in a freshly opened bottle of sparkling mineral water.
  • Break each egg into a small cup with a handle and slide the cup into the water. Let water enter the cup for a few seconds (you’ll see the white of the egg start to cook) and then gently tip the egg into the pan. Do the same with the next egg and start your timer.
  • When the time is up use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs. Place on a plate while you finish the dish.
  • When the asparagus is grilled nicely, remove it and place it on your plates. Carefully slide the egg on top, and place the pancetta around the egg. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano.
  • This is great with some Prosecco, so if you’ve managed to not mess up the poached eggs, have a toast! If not, drown your sorrows with some Prosecco anyway.

Nutrition

Calories: 525kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 921mg | Sodium: 520mg | Potassium: 482mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1675IU | Vitamin C: 2.7mg | Calcium: 153mg | Iron: 5.4mg