Barely Roasted Asparagus ♥ Recipe

Do peel the asparagus for this dish
Today's vegetable recipe: A lesson in timing, how barely roasting fat spears of spring asparagus turns out something entirely new: crisp with good 'snap', garlicky and glorious. Vegan, low-carb and Weight Watchers 1 point.

This is the time of year when a reader might complain, "Alanna, are you cooking anything except asparagus?" (Yes, it really happened, in 2007 with the oh-so-lovely Asparagus Omelet with Remoulade Sauce.)

Every year, my answer is the same. Well, no. The good news for readers is that this means that I've collected dozens of asparagus recipes.

But this year in particular, when I'm lucky to have asparagus five minutes from the dirt, there's just no getting enough of it. This new technique ranks right up there as a top-top favorite way to cook asparagus. It's also one of the easiest -- and quickest -- ways to roast asparagus.

When it comes to roasting asparagus, it's a question of timing, timing, timing.
  • TOTALLY ROASTED ASPARAGUS Try the verrry slow roasting of Slow-Roasted Asparagus, a traditional Italian method called 'hammering'.
  • TYPICAL ROASTED ASPARAGUS Here the asparagus is roasted for some while, the result is soft and cooked to perfection. An example is the Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan.
  • BARELY ROASTED ASPARAGUS And now, here, the asparagus is roasted for just a flash, just until warm but still crisp enough to 'snap' when you bite in. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
PS These asparagus? Be forewarned, you'll probably want to eat them with your fingers! You'll probably obsess about making them again for days. You'll probably want to cook nothing but asparagus for weeks. LIKE ME!

PPS This recipe is so simple -- and has been made so easily and so often, now without thinking, that it qualifies for brand-new collection of easy summer recipes that will be published all summer long over at Kitchen Parade, my food column.



BARELY ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 20 minutes
Serves 4

1 pound fat spears of asparagus, washed well, especially the tips
Olive oil - a good dousing
Garlic - 2 or 3 cloves, chopped fine
Dried bread crumbs - a tablespoon or two

Preheat oven to 400F. Peel the skins off the asparagus, then snap off the woody ends. Place in a shallow oven-safe dish two to three spears deep. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic and bread crumbs. Place in the oven for about 7 minutes, until asparagus are warmed through but still quite crisp.


KITCHEN NOTES
Don't be stingy with the olive oil, as most will be used for 'cooking' but won't be eaten. Do save the leftover oil, use for a salad dressing, cooking eggs, etc.
Save the skinny asparagus for another recipe, you really want a fleshy spear for roasting.

A Veggie Venture - Printer Friendly Recipe Graphic



MORE FAVORITE ASPARAGUS RECIPES
~ Gorgeous Raw Asparagus Salad ~
~ Roasted Asparagus & Mushrooms ~
~ more asparagus recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Asparagus Whole Wheat Bread Pudding ~
~ Roasted Salmon & Asparagus ~
~ more asparagus recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column




Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 19, 2009

    Yum!!! I cannot WAIT to try this recipe. Maybe tonight..... Wait, no I'm making one of your brussels sprouts recipes tonight. Okay, definitely tomorrow!

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  2. AnonymousMay 19, 2009

    Yum!!! I cannot WAIT to try this recipe. Maybe tonight..... Wait, no I'm making one of your brussels sprouts recipes tonight. Okay, definitely tomorrow!

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  3. I'm a recent asparagus convert. Love that flavor! And this is such a great way to bring out the natural flavor of asparagus.

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  4. ;o) I'm just fine with all the asparagus you can dish out Alanna. I don't think I've ever had too much even when I've eaten it day after day.

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  5. There's no such thing as too much asparagus. Here in Rhode Island, the season only lasts for six weeks or so, and for the rest of the year I can't bear the thought of buying supermarket asparagus. I freeze it, and make soup and freeze the soup, and once I've used it for the year, that's it until the next spring. So bring it on now!

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  6. I'm on a serious asparagus kick right now! I love it just barely blanched in cold salads.

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  7. i loooove roasted asparagus. also recently discovered how to do pan-roasted and love it even more (maybe).

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  8. Love it, love it, love it!! Asparagus is such a great, versatile veggie. Thanks for the recipe...hope some makes it to the table! :)

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  9. I tend to only buy those super skinny stalks, but maybe I will give the hefty stalks a try with this recipe.

    My favorite asparagus is still on the grill. Hubby marinates in olive oil, balsamic, garlic, and s&p and then grills them. As soon as he pulls them off the grill we top with fresh shaved Parmesan. Yum!

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  10. Kristjan just called me that he got a large bunch of fresh Estonian asparagus at the market! Until now I've had to drool over everybody elses asparagus posts (incl. yours), as I was determined not to buy any of the imported stuff :)

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  11. I've been looking for other veggie bloggers and your site looks great! As much as I love, love, love vegetables of all kinds I have never been able to stomach asparagus. I've tried it recently to see if my tastes have changed since I was a kid. It didn't make me want to gag anymore but I just don't like it. I guess I'm weird!

    Check out my blog sometime if you like: http://tastyveggiefoods.blogspot.com/

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  12. Asparagus is such a great spring/summer veggie! Yumm! Nice post

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  13. Delicious! I love asparagus thank for a wonderful recipe:)

    and you can visit me if i can visit you:)

    foodcreate Welcome!

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna