Side dishes can become rather boring in our house and I tend to rely on my easy standbys like brown rice and green beans to compliment our main dishes. I forget how easy and lovely it is to add a little variation to our side dishes and the melancholy of those long winter days leaves my creativity drained when it comes to the dinner hour.
When I saw the beautiful shoots of asparagus on sale at our grocery store, I began to breathe a little sigh of relief as it has to mean that Spring is just around the corner. Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables to create and enjoy. It is simple, low in calories, and packed with vitamins. It makes the perfect easy salty appetizer wrapped in a little prosciutto and roasting it brings out a nutty flavor with just a few simple ingredients you have already in your kitchen. Serve it as a finger-food to your children, like their favorite french fries and see if they don’t gobble it up.
Although I feel there is nothing really special about my technique for asparagus, I wanted to share with you how to roast it and enjoy it for your next weeknight meal.
On a cookie sheet, fan your asparagus out on the baking sheet. Drizzle the asparagus with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little minced garlic (bottled is fine). Give your asparagus a little rub to incorporate all those delicious seasonings into the vegetable. Pop it in the oven and bake them for twelve minutes at 425 degrees.
Pull your delicious asparagus out and try not to eat the whole platter before your family comes to the table. Notice that beautiful color and the roasted bits all over it. This stuff is a little bit of heaven.
To make it even more delicious and appealing, grate a tiny bit of fresh Parmesan Cheese all over it.
Eat.
Enjoy that sometimes the simplest things are the best things in the world. Pair this with a favorite dish in your house- we love our asparagus with roasted chicken, linguine with white clam sauce, or make it a fun finger food night with panko crusted tilapia nuggets.
Simple Roasted Asparagus
What are your favorite vegetable side dishes? What Spring foods are you looking forward to this year?
That is EXACTLY how I make asparagus for our family! We love it!
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Amy Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Ha!! Great minds think alike, Lisa! Thank you so much for your comment!!
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Looks delicious! My husband and I like asparagus, too, but I never thought to sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on it. Thanks for the idea! I just bought asparagus on sale the other day, and I have parmesan in the fridge, too.
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Amy Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Yum! I hope you guys like it as much as we do. It adds a little something special to the asparagus. Thanks so much for swinging by and commenting, Sandra!
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We have an asparagus patch in our garden. During harvest time I eat it three times a day! I love it. My favorite is for breakfast. I cut it into chunks, saute in a little butter & let it cook a minute or two then add one or two beaten eggs. Salt & pepper to taste.
Sometimes I push the asparagus to the side & just let them cook in the same pan & sometimes I pour the egg over the asparagus. It gets a little more crispy if you don’t mix the egg with it & sometimes I like it that way. Yum!
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Amy Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 8:42 pm
Now you are making me hungry for eggs with asparagus in it. Thanks so much for this delicious breakfast idea, Jen! So glad to have you here!
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I love roasted asparagus!! I never thought of adding freshly shredded Parmesan cheese on top, but I know what I’m trying next time.
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Amy Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Hurray, so glad we could add a little special touch to your asparagus eating. So yummy! Thank you so much for your comment today!!
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