Asparagus and pancetta pasta

To prepare asparagus and pancetta pasta, remove the tough ends of the asparagus stalks 1, cut the stalks into rings 2, cut the tips in half 3 and leave them to one side.

Peel and finely chop the shallot 4, cut the bacon into strips 5. Bring the water for cooking the pasta to the boil, add salt and in the meantime, heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan 6.

Add the finely chopped shallot 7 and leave to brown on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stir occasionally. Add the asparagus stalk rings 8, add salt and pepper to taste. Add a ladle of hot water (taken from the pot in which the pasta will be cooked), simmer and reduce 9. Cook for around 10 minutes and add a little hot water if necessary.

Once the asparagus is cooked, remove around 2/3 of it and place in a glass together with 2 tbsp of oil 10, 1/2 cups of water 11 and blend using an immersion blender 12.

You should now have a smooth cream 13. Leave the cream to one side, add the bacon to the pan in which the asparagus was cooked 14 and leave to brown for 2 minutes on medium heat, stir occasionally. Now add the asparagus tips 15 and leave to brown for another 5 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the pasta until firm to the bite 16. Save a few strips of pancetta and browned asparagus tips 17 and add the asparagus cream to the pan with the sauce 18, along with the asparagus stalk rings.

Add the cooked pasta to the pan 19 and stir for a couple of minutes until thoroughly coated and creamy 20. Place the pasta on plates, add some freshly ground pepper to taste and decorate each plate with the asparagus tips and strips of pancetta you left to one side 21!