easy roasted asparagus
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One of my favorite cookbook writers Ina Garten, aka, the Barefoot Contessa. Her recipes and cookbooks are unpretentious and pretty simple. The sub-title of one of her cookbooks is "Easy ideas and recipes that make everyone feel like family." Spot-on.
This is a lighter touch that the Gorgonzola Grilled Asparagus, and is best done in the oven, rather than the grill. With 4 simple spices that I actually always have in-house, it's no-stress veggies for dinner.
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Snap the rough bottoms of the aspagus stems off. Then slice them slightly on a diagonal to give them a good clean edge. This is really for aesthetic purposes, but it doesn't take too long.
User a vegetable peeler to take remove some of the tougher skins on the bottom. The vegetable peeler is a very good trick and a good test to make sure your asparagus is fresh. Soggy stems will not hold up to the peeler. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Lay asparagus flat on a pan, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. VERY LIGHTLY sprinkle with salt because you'll be adding parmesan to it. Sprinkle more liberally with pepper. |
Peeled, prepped asparagus, ready for roasting
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Roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Take out and grate or sprinkle Parmesan cheese over. Return to the oven for 2-3 more minutes, depending on how quickly the cheese melts. Transfer to a serving platter, or eat off the pan.
NOTES:
1. The Contessa's original recipe directs a 20 minute roasting time. I like a little crunch to the asparagus so I reduced the time a bit, even with chunky-stemmed aspragus.
NOTES:
1. The Contessa's original recipe directs a 20 minute roasting time. I like a little crunch to the asparagus so I reduced the time a bit, even with chunky-stemmed aspragus.
