Roasted Dilly Asparagus

Asparagus!

Ah asparagus - that strange little wonderful vegetable that shows up in our grocery stores come winter. The green stalks usually bundled in 1 lb bunches held together by two blue or purple rubber bands. So many ways to enjoy this vegetable all of them wonderful! It is to this day one hearty little vegetable that can spring from patches of earth on the side of roads and railroad tracks at the first sign of spring weather.

Asparagus sprouting from the ground

Asparagus field

One of my favorite ways of cooking asparagus is roasting it. Steaming it works well but there is a razor fine line where asparagus goes from delicious to mushy! I am not saying that roasting asparagus can't be over cooked, but the dry heat from the oven tends to dry the asparagus out so it isn't mushy.

Here is what you'll need:
1 1lb Asparagus
Olive oil
salt
pepper
dill (or your favorite spice/herb)

Here is what you do:

Trim the woody end off the asparagus (for a nifty trick watch the video on this blog). Brush the asparagus generously with olive oil. Spread the asparagus on a foil lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and dill (or another spice/herb). Pop the asparagus in a pre-heated 450 F oven for 20 minutes. Best to roll them over half way through the roasting time! 

Skinnier asparagus may require less time in the oven while fat asparagus may need a little more. So just keep an eye on them!

Serve as a vegetable with dinner or cut up on a salad cold. Or just munch on them as a snack.

Enjoy!

~ Recipe ~

1 lb Asparagus (trimmed)

olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Dill (or another spice/herb)

Pre-heat an oven to 450 F. Brush the asparagus generously with olive oil and arrange on a foil lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and dill. Roast for ~20 minutes. Turn the asparagus half way through the roasting time.