The foraged asparagus in this dish was gifted by my friend, Tiffany. What’s ironic is she also happens to be the person teaching me a ton about wine. Asparagus and wine are not generally friends so, I’ll leave the pairing for this one up to her.
When I saw fresh morels (another forager favourite) at my local market, I knew they were meant to be with the asparagus and just added a few components to round out the flavours. If bacon isn’t your thing, make this dish vegetarian by omitting it and cooking the shallot in oil. If you choose to go that route, add salt to taste. You can also substitute another mushroom for the morels. I served the dish with a slow-cooked egg on top. Give it a try because it looks great and egg yolk may be one of the best sauces ever.
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 as a starter
Ingredients:
4 strips thick-sliced bacon – cut into matchsticks
1 large shallot – small dice
100g fresh morel mushrooms – rinsed & quartered lengthwise
300g asparagus – cut into 3cm pieces
100ml white wine
Few grinds fresh-ground black pepper
Preparation:
Place a large frying pan on medium heat.
Add the bacon to the pan. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally until it is just browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
Add the shallot and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally for three minutes.
Stir in the asparagus. Cook stirring occasionally for four minutes.
Add the white wine and pepper. Cook for two minutes.
Stir in the bacon, cooking for two more minutes.
Remove from heat and serve immediately.