Bacon Potato Asparagus Hash

I discovered this gem of a recipe by SmittenKitchen waaaahey back in 2010. I tried it. I loved it. Then for reasons that I can’t quite explain off it drifted into the vacuum that sometimes stands in for my brain…never to pop into my conscience thought process again.       byeeeeeeeeee

Until just last week.

I was scrolling through Instagram (I know, I know, soul twisting time suck that it may be) and up pops this beauty – Deb’s Spring Asparagus Pancetta Hash – from the archives. 

Hey there! I KNOW YOU! Memories suddenly flooded back into my vortex (wax on wax off, I guess) of smoky bacony goodness, perfectly browned cubes of potato and tender crisp asparagus pieces all loved up together with a little caramelized onion along for the ride. THIS WAS SO GOOD! I specifically remember how much I loved it at the time. HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN? (oh am I yelling now?)

Are you telling me I have wasted 8 years of my life???? This makes me so unhappy. 

Unbelievably tasty and complete perfection AS IS…….top this genius conglomeration with a runny egg (or two) and you will pretty much be convinced that you died and went to heaven.

Not sad like me.

So.

Since life is short and all, let’s not waste another minute. I already missed out on the past eight years of happiness that this amazing use of asparagus can bring….don’t you make the same mistake.

Five ingredients! Besides the obvious asparagus, bacon and potatoes, you’ll require just some diced onion and olive oil. And if you really want to put the cherry on top, a couple of eggs (okay so six ingredients then).Get rid of those tough woody ends of your asparagus by simply snapping them off. The asparagus will “know” where to break for you, how nice is that? Then cut your spears up into inch sized pieces.

You’ll want about 4 cups of cubed potatoes. This turned out to be just two of the big waxy red ones you saw above. Red potatoes have a nice thin skin that you don’t even need to peel. They are a much less starchy variety than say, a baking potato –  so they hold their shape nicely too. A fairly small 1/2 inch dice is required here.

Believe me when I tell you this is the peskiest part!

But you gotta have a nice EVEN dice, and they gotta be small for even cooking time’s sake, so get out your sharpest knife and take your time. I know it’s sort of a pain, but you can do it.

It’s gonna be worth it, I’m telling you.

You’ll need a generous cup of finely diced onion as well. I only needed half of a big yellow onion to get there.

Now I recognize that the SmittenKitchen original calls for pancetta (a cured ham product, similar to bacon but not smoked like bacon), however I am generally TEAM BACON when it comes to cured and fatty pork products. As if there was an inferior choice, right? You probably have some bacon in the fridge right now so I say keep it easy, although if you insist on pancetta, by all means, use pancetta!

Give it (your pork product of choice) a dice, and into a large cold frying pan it goes. Extra points if you have a cast iron skillet. As it happens, I do not.    No extra points for me. ☹️    

Turn the heat up to medium, and fry that bacon, turning it frequently so that it browns and crisps on all sides; this takes about 10 – 12 minutes. Avoid the temptation to crank up the heat and get this smokin’, ya know? The key to evenly cooked NON-FLABBY bacon is lower heat for a longer time. Just sayin’.

Remove the crisped bacon with a slotted spoon and just pop it into a little bowl to hang out. Don’t bother draining on paper towels. I mean, you’re going to use the leftover renderings in a second to cook up those potatoes anyway so….yeah….why? Leave the heat on and the fat in the pan. If things are looking a little drrrryyyyy, feel free to add a bit of olive oil, even. Because we are crazy like that.

Carefully slide in your meticulously cubed potatoes, and give everyone good dusting of salt and pepper. Keep this at a medium to medium high heat depending on your stove top, and be prepared to babysit this juuuuust a bit. Don’t go stir crazy and insist on moving them around every two seconds, just let them gently sizzle away undisturbed before giving them a flip, to give ’em a chance to brown evenly and beautifully on all sides. 

When the potatoes are at the halfway mark (ten minutes in), go ahead and add the chopped onion to the pan. Give this a stir and continue cooking another ten minutes or until the potatoes are burnished on the outside and tender on the inside when poked with a fork…… and the onions are soft, translucent and yummy looking. You may or may not need to add in a little drizzle of olive oil as you go; I know I had to.

And that’s OKAY!!!!

Now’s the time to tip in those asparagus pieces and pop a lid on it. Let this continue to cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until crisply tender. Skinny asparagus will take less time than thicker asparagus, but I didn’t really have to mention that, right?

Once your asparagus is perfect (take one out and taste it!) return the bacon to the pan for another minute, just to heat it through. As always, if it could use some additional seasoning, now’s the time……….

Take it off the heat and you’re done.

And YUM. 

So perfectly delightful just as you see it here, all green and bronzed and crispy and tender and smoky all at once, you could leave this naked and totally call it a day. 

But why would you do that, when you could top it with some perfectly cooked eggs (if you want to know how I make mine go HERE),

and call it DINNER?

I am already planning on the next time we meet and I can promise there won’t be another eight years between us, my darling. 💕 

RECIPE BELOW: I am not going to lie, this dish is sort of a pain in the arse to get on the table, between the precision dicing and the actual mess that will occur all over your stove top once those perfect potatoes hit the hot oil. SPLAT. I hope with all my heart you make this anyway. Besides, once you try it there’s no way you can stay mad at me.     For long.    As written the recipe makes enough for two generous servings if you are topping with eggs, can be stretched to four servings as a side dish (no eggs), obviously you can adjust the amounts and make LOTS MORE. Thanks to Deb at SmittenKitchen, one of my favorite food blogs around.