Drizzled with balsamic glaze, these delicious and fancy sautéed garlic asparagus combined with guanciale are served with a silky hollandaise sauce. The combination of sweet and tart flavor of the balsamic glaze with the buttery texture of the hollandaise and the saltiness of the guanciale makes a wonderfully balanced dish full of flavors on the sautéed asparagus. This low-carb and gluten-free dish is so versatile you can make it as an appetizer, a side dish for your breakfast or dinner!
Guanciale is a type of cured meat that comes from the cheek of a pig. It is cured anywhere between a few weeks to 4 months. This ingredient is traditionally used to make pasta carbonara. However, it is only lately that guanciale became more popular in North America because its importation was banned up until 2014. Compared to pancetta, it has a thicker cut with a higher fat-to-meat ratio and tastes rich and buttery. Whenever I make guanciale, I love to keep its fat drippings and use as an oil substitution in my other dishes. They are a flavor bomb!
In this recipe, I am only using a small amount of guanciale, about 1/4 lb. Because of its fatty texture, using too much of it will make your dish oily and overpowering.
INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Guanciale can still be hard to find depending on where you live in North America. If you cannot find it, you can replace it with pancetta.
TIPS FOR MAKING SAUTEED ASPARAGUS WITH GUANCIALE AND HOLLANDAISE
Making the hollandaise sauce
People get often intimidated in making hollandaise sauce and keep ordering at the restaurants. However, this sauce comes together within 10 minutes and only requires a handful of ingredients. Once you make your hollandaise sauce at home, the restaurant version will no longer be up to your your standards!
- Bring a small-sized saucepan with water to a simmer. In a heat resistant mixing bowl (Pyrex type) sitting on top of the saucepan (double boiler), add egg yolks and lemon juice. You should not fill the saucepan with water more than halfway. Otherwise, the bottom of your mixing bowl can touch and may scramble your egg yolks.
- You can either use a hand mixer on high speed or manually whisk vigorously until the egg yolks lightens and become pale yellow.
- While whisking, slowly drizzle the melted butter so that egg yolks have time to emulsify properly. Continue to whisk until the sauce doubles in volume. Add pinch of salt and cayenne, give it a mix until all combined. You know your sauce is ready when it becomes light and silky in texture.
If you are making your hollandaise ahead of time, you can refrigerate it up to 3 days. When ready to serve, put the mixing bowl back on a double boiler on low heat and whisk until the sauce warms up and turns into a pourable consistency.
Sautéeing asparagus and guanciale
In a skillet on medium heat, cook the guanciale. Remove the cooked pieces and set aside. Do not get rid of that fat, it’s liquid gold! On the same skillet and using the guanciale fat, add garlic and asparagus. Moreover, avoid adding salt because the guanciale has a high salt content. Sautée until the asparagus are cooked, but remain crispy. One way to know is that they become vibrant green.
How to serve:
This dish is served hot. On a plate, layer asparagus. Add hollandaise sauce and guanciale. Drizzle lightly with balsamic glaze and garnish with chopped chives. The key for a well seasoned and tasty dish is to balance all the flavors. Too much guanciale will make your meal oily. Too much balsamic glaze will overpower the taste of the hollandaise. I suggest you drizzle a maximum equivalent of 1 teaspoon of balsamic glaze. Finally, avoid salting unless you really need to.
Equipment
- Skillet
- Heat proof mixing bowl
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus trimmed
- ¼ lb guanciale diced into ½ inch wide pieces (see note)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 strands of chives finely chopped
- 1 tsp balsamic glaze
For the Hollandaise
- 4 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- 2 tsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of cayenne
Instructions
Making the hollandaise:
- Bring a small-sized saucepan filled halfway with water to a simmer.
- In a heat resistant mixing bowl sitting on top of the saucepan (double boiler), add egg yolks and lemon juice. Using a hand mixer on high speed or manually whisk vigorously until the egg yolks lightens and become pale yellow. Slowly drizzle the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce doubles in volume. Add pinch of salt and cayenne. Mix until all combined.
- Remove mixing bowl from heat. Cover the sauce until ready to serve.
- If making hollandaise ahead of time, refrigerate. When ready to serve, put the mixing bowl back on a double boiler on low heat and whisk until the sauce warms up and becomes more fluid in consistency.
Making the sautéed asparagus:
- In a skillet on medium heat, cook guanciale. Remove and set aside.
- On the same skillet and using the guanciale fat, add garlic and asparagus. Sautée until the asparagus become vibrant green. They are cooked but remain crispy.
To serve:
- On a plate, layer asparagus. Add hollandaise sauce and guanciale. Drizzle lightly with balsamic glaze (maximum 1 teaspoon equivalent) and garnish with chopped chives. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
* Nutrition disclosure and disclaimer
