Eggs With Roasted Asparagus and Pancetta
serves 2
I love this combination of eggs and asparagus- with the bread crumbs soaking up the runny yolks. The colors in this dish are so vibrant and appealing. I have made it here with a fried egg- using the same pan that i cooked the pancetta in- makes for easy clean up. Poached eggs work fine as well. I also used one pan to toast both the bread and roast the asparagus .I save leftover french baguette slices in the freezer and then thaw them out and toast them for dishing like this.
4 eggs
2 1/4 inch slices of pancetta
3-4 slices of french bread- about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 # asparagus- or about 6 stalks per person- well trimmed
Parmesan cheese for grating
fleur de sel
fresh ground black pepper
olive oil
For the bread crumbs and asparagus:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Brush the bread slices lightly with olive oil and put them on one half of a rimmed baking sheet- cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the bread. Add the asparagus to the other side of the pan and brush lightly with olive oil- return to the oven for another 10 minutes or so - until the bread is toasted and the asparagus is tender and just starting to brown a bit. Remove from oven when done. when cool enough to handle break up the bread crumbs into little bits. Set aside. Turn oven off and put serving plates in the oven to warm up.
For the pancetta:
While the bread and asparagus are in the oven-you can cook the pancetta. Uncoil the pancetta and dice it up into bite sized pieces.
Cook the pancetta until crispy- stirring all the while- this should take 5 -7 minutes. Set the pancetta aside.
There should be enough oil from the bacon to cook the eggs- if not add a little olive oil. On medium hi heat cook the eggs- to desired doneness- i like them with crispy white edges and the yolks still runny.
To assemble the dish:
Place the asparagus in the center of the warmed plate- in a scattered fashion. Lay the eggs on top sprinkle with the pancetta and bread crumbs. Finally a sprinkle of fleur de sel, a few grindings of pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese- serve warm!
