I belong to a cookbook club, and we meet every month to feed each other some spectacular food and their recipes. Sometimes the meetings follow a theme like “Your Mom’s Best Recipe” or “Picnic Food“. Sometimes the meetings are from a particular cookbook, chef, location or focus ingredient.

Usually I have it covered—this month, I did not. Our meetings are on Sundays at 3 PM, and I was searching recipes at 8 PM on Saturday. Nothing was speaking to me—desperation was really setting in. But finally anxiety inspiration hit and I searched for ‘best recipes of all time‘. Five entries down I saw ’10 Best Recipes of All Time at Food 52‘—I clicked. Then I scrolled then I hit on recipe #9: Absurdly Addictive Asparagus.

Originally uploaded to Food52 by community member kaykay in 2010, this recipe has racked up an impressive amount of attention with upwards of 12,000 favorites and 300 comments. Those are some pretty good creds, so I decided to give it a try. Then I made it again, and it was delicious. Here’s the recipe; I only made a few minor changes, but if you want the original recipe, the link is above.

Recipe and Photo from Food52

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 ounces pancetta, cut into 3/8 inch to 1/4 inch dice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced into 2 inch pieces on the bias
• 1 leek, thinly sliced crosswise (white and pale green parts only)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Zest of one lemon
• 1-2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, optional
• 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped (more to taste)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large non-stick pan, sauté pancetta, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until crisp and lightly golden.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to pan. Add leek and sauté for a few minutes, or until halfway cooked.
3. Add asparagus pieces and sauté until asparagus is tender crisp, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add garlic, lemon and orange zest, toasted pine nuts and parsley and sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
5. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and salt and serve immediately.

I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!