Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Roasted Asparagus


Are you still boiling your asparagus?  Do you even like asparagus? 

Asparagus just went out of season in my area, but it's still plentiful in the grocery stores and farmer's markets at a reasonable price.  My husband doesn't care for asparagus, but I've liked it ever since my mom served it with melted cheese when I was a little kid.  I no longer put cheese on it, but I have discovered that it tastes much better when it's roasted, rather than boiled.  It retains a crunchy texture and it's much easier to prepare and clean up:  no special pot needed.

This is one of those super simple techniques that changed the way I cook.  I now roast Brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, bacon... pretty much anything that I used to cook on the stove.  Here's my technique for asparagus.  I'm sure you could also do the same thing on a grill, I just haven't got around to trying it yet.


Roasted Asparagus
the Keeley way

Asparagus (1 bunch, about 1/2 pound)
Extra-virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 425.  (My oven has a separate setting for roasting, if yours does, use it.)  Line a baking sheet with foil.

Rinse the asparagus and cut off the woody stem on bottom (about 1/4 or 1/3 off the bottom of each spear). 

Lay the clean, trimmed asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Toss to coat evenly.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Roast for 8-10 minutes or until tender. 

Serves 4

Note:  You can get as fancy with this as you'd like.  Sometimes I add a bit of minced garlic and other times I finish the dish with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. 

4 comments:

  1. My new healthy self needs to try this...asap! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is how I like it too but I like to add a squeeze of lemon juice and some freshly grated parm. so good.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i love roasted asparagus. LOVE IT. but I can't even think about turning on the oven in my closet of a kitchen during the summer heat. it literally warms my entire apartment another 5 degress.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails