Roasted Asparagus, baked with olive oil, minced garlic, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Easy and elegant!
When you see asparagus at the grocery stores, it is a sure sign of spring. While there is frozen and canned asparagus year around, there is nothing better than the delicate flavor of fresh asparagus.
When I get fresh asparagus in season, I don't want the flavor totally smothered with a lot of ingredients that takes away from the simplistic taste.
Here I just bake them in the oven with little olive oil and minced garlic and then season with coarse salt and coarse black pepper.
Roasted Asparagus
- 2 bunches asparagus, washed
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse grained salt
cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, rough chopped
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Drizzle half the olive oil over the asparagus and add the garlic, seal the bag and shake until asparagus is coated evenly with the olive oil.
If necessary, add only enough of the remaining olive oil to coat the asparagus. Place the asparagus in a single layer on a cookie sheet, season with salt and pepper.
Bake until tender or crunchy depending on your preference, about 12 to 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Note: Toss asparagus with oil, garlic, and salt and pepper as directed above and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake it off. Asparagus starts losing its sweetness the minute it's cut, therefore, as always, look for the freshest stalks possible. Skins should be smooth and bright colored with tightly formed heads.
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