Roasted Asparagus is a delicious side dish for any savory main dish, such as steak on the grill, Salmon in Soy Sauce, or Mediterranean Chicken.
I love asparagus. And an article on health.com gave me 10 reasons to eat more of this wonderful veggie. Their list includes all of the the vitamin and fiber benefits you’ve already heard a thousand times. One of the more interesting reasons was that it might be an aphrodisiac. The article also said that asparagus could help with a hangover. I wondered of those two benefits were related. Think about it. Ha!
For me there is one main reason to eat more asparagus: I love its bold flavor! This means I make asparagus more frequently than others in the family might prefer. But here’s the way I look at it: if I’m cooking, then the menu is my choice. Everyone in the house is more than welcome to prepare the family meal and, therefore, decide what we’re eating. This rarely happens and instead I happily make more asparagus.
Three tips before you start cooking… 1) I like heating the oil, garlic, and parsley in a small saute pan before pouring it over the asparagus. When I do this, it seems like the flavors seep into the asparagus more completely. The dish is still yummy if you skip this step. 2) The shredded Parmesan cheese on top is wonderful, but you can skip if if you don’t have it. 3) Be sure the rest of your meal is ready or nearly ready before popping this into the oven! Asparagus isn’t good when it’s overcooked. Also, it has a tendency to cool quickly and it doesn’t reheat terribly well.
This is the cake pan I use to make Roasted Asparagus:
Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons fresh finely chopped parsley
- 1 lb asparagus ends trimmed
- Coarse sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese fresh is best, but the grated Parmesan in the jar works, too
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Line a cake pan with parchment paper and set aside
- Rinse and dry asparagus, place in the cake pan in a single layer
- Add oil to a small pot or skillet over Medium heat
- When the oil is hot, add garlic, onion powder, and parsley
- Cook for about 3 minutes stirring frequently until the parsley is wilted and the garlic is tender and fragrant but not browned
- Drizzle the hot garlic-oil mixture over asparagus
- Lightly sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper
- Roast for 8 minutes until the asparagus turns a bright green and is still firm
- Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top and set the oven to High Broil
- Leave the oven door cracked open and watch the cheese for a minute or two - when it's bubbling all over, remove the pan
- Don't overcook! Serve immediately