Saturday, March 27, 2010

Garlic Balsamic Asparagus

1 lb. asparagus
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
1 tsp. minced or pressed garlic

If roasting in the oven, heat oven to 425. If grilling, prepare grill to medium heat. Wash asparagus and then remove the bottom couple of inches of each stalk. Just snap off the woody ends. It may seem wasteful, but you won't eat it, anyway--it's too tough and is one of the big reasons why lot of people don't like asparagus.

In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, and garlic. Drizzle over asparagus and toss to coat.

If roasting, place in a single layer on a broiling pan. If grilling, reduce heat to low, lightly oil grill, and place asparagus perpendicular to the grate of the grill. Drizzle any remaining oil/vinegar mix over the asparagus.


If using oven, roast for 10 minutes, turning once. If using grill, grill for 8-10 minutes or until asparagus is bright green and still slightly crisp, turning very frequently.
Serve immediately.

*D: Asparagus?! That's what I thought when I was faced with the dilemma of cooking this veggie. I don't love asparagus, but I remembered a time last year when my mom made me try bacon-wrapped asparagus while we were in Disneyland. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. But let's be honest for a moment...probably any vegetable wrapped in bacon and grilled to a crisp is going to be delicious. But I liked it then, so I thought I'd give it a try. And besides, don't you think of asparagus as kind of "high class?" I mean, it's not like you get served asparagus every day.


This recipe was delightfully easy and totally delicious! We did the oven method and it turned out great. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I probably didn't let them cook long enough, and the flavor was still very strong, perhaps a teensy bit bitter, but very robust.


The recipe calls for a pound of asparagus, I don't know how much I had vs how much I used. I just knew Tyler and I were not going to eat a pound of asparagus, so I used about 15 stalks. There did seem to be a little excess sauce, but too much dressing is never a bad thing. I probably could have done 5 more without breaking a sweat. Any more than that and I think you might need to double the sauce recipe.


Next time you want to impress company, try some asparagus and let me know how it goes. ;)


Enjoy! (I know I did.)


I found this recipe here: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/06/garlic-basalmic-asparagus.html Pin It

No comments: