Mezze maniche with asparagus cream, crispy pancetta cubes and peppered pecorino fondue

03/28/2026

Spring is in the air: the days are getting longer and everything seems to be reborn around us. It’s the time when fresh asparagus returns to market stalls, tender and crunchy, ready to bring some lightness and color to dishes. Their slightly grassy flavor makes them perfect to enhance even the simplest recipes. Rich in vitamins A, C, E, and K, minerals like iron, calcium, and potassium, and natural antioxidants, asparagus are light, detoxifying, and beneficial for health.

Today, with Cesarina Gianna from Villastrada, we discover a delicious pairing for this vegetable: an asparagus cream to coat the mezze maniche, enriched with crispy pancetta cubes and peppered pecorino fondue.

Mezze maniche with asparagus cream, crispy pancetta cubes and peppered pecorino fondue

A simple yet tasty spring dish

Preparation time30m

Servings4

€

CostLow

Ingredients

500 g pasta
500 g asparagus
Salted pancetta cubes
Aged pecorino cheese
Garlic
Oil
Salt
Pepper

Method

Clean the garlic and heat it in a pot, adding the cleaned asparagus cut into cubes.
Add some vegetable broth to help cooking.
Set aside the asparagus tips, which you will use to garnish the dish.
Blend the cooked asparagus until smooth.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta.
With a bit of cooking water and pecorino, prepare a light cream, adding some pepper to taste.
Drain the pasta al dente and coat it with the asparagus cream.
Add the pecorino cream on top and the pancetta cubes previously sautéed without oil.
Serve the dish hot.