I think I may have mentioned how much I love asparagus when it's in season. One of my favourite things to do with the stuff (apart from smother it in molten butter, which is a no-no at the moment) is to make a pancetta and asparagus salad (a tip I picked up from Harry at Borough Market's Wild Mushroom Company, aka Tony Booth's).You need to use fairly slender asparagus to make this recipe work, otherwise the spears won't cook through. Sprue asparagus is ideal, if you can find it, if not rather weedy spears will do nicely.
Pancetta and asparagus salad for two
3-4 thick slices of pancetta, cut into lardons (regular bacon will do, but it doesn't ever reach the heights of a salad made with proper pancetta) a bundle of thin-speared asparagus, cut into five-centimetre lengths a juicy lemon
half a red onion, cut into thin rings
Fry the pancetta gently until it begins to turn brown. Don't bother putting any oil in the pan as the pancetta generates a certain amount of fat, especially if you cook it fairly gently. (Don't worry - there's not a huge amount of fat and what there is goes to make the dressing of the salad.)
Once the pancetta starts to colour, add the asparagus and stir through. I usually put a lid over the frying pan at this point and allow the asparagus to steam through for 2-3 minutes.
Once the asparagus has softened, squeeze the lemon juice into the pan and stir through. You'll find the pancetta fat and lemon combine to make a wonderful dressing with a slightly syrupy texture.
Tip the whole lot into a bowl in which you've already placed the onion rings. If you've sliced them thinly enough, they'll wilt in the heat of the asparagus and pancetta. You could, if you wanted, stir through some chopped tarragon. And, if I wasn't dieting, I'd say that this dish is screaming out for a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
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