Slow-Roasted Asparagus ♥

Slow-Roasted Asparagus, another spring classic ♥ AVeggieVenture.com, delicate, dark and dreamy. Low Carb. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Gluten Free.
So everybody knows how delicious roasted asparagus is. But now there's slow-roasted asparagus, an Italian way of roasting fat spears dotted with Parmesan and butter and roasted for an unusually long while until delicate, dark and dreamy. Just gorgeous! People fight over the last spears!

Fresh & Seasonal. Low Carb. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Vegetarian. Naturally Gluten Free.


The Short Version: How to Roast Asparagus

Barely Roast Drizzle fat spears with olive oil, garlic and bread crumbs. Roast at 400F for about 7 minutes. (More detail here, Barely Roasted Asparagus.)
Fast Roast Sprinkle fat spears with salt. Roast at 500F for 8-15 minutes, adding crumbled feta halfway through. (More detail here, Roasted Asparagus with Feta.)
Slow Roast Parcook fat spears. Roll in oil, sprinkle with Parmesan and dot with butter. Roast at 400F for about 30 minutes. (More detail below.)

What Is Slow Food?

When people talk about slow food, it's generally code for Slow Food, the Italian organization that's become an international movement, one that fights the disappearance of local food traditions, people’s dwindling interest in the food we eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

But not me, when I write about slow food, I mean slow food quite literally, that is, food cooked unusually slowly, sloooooow food.

This obsession with all-things-slow, it started with my first forays into slow-roasted tomatoes and really picked up steam with the life-changing slow-baked potatoes. But I would never-ever-ever have guessed that asparagus – so lovely when steamed just-til-done, you know, that tender-crisp point of perfection – would turn into some entirely different vegetable when cooked for such a long time.

The inspiration came from pastry chef and cookbook author Gina DePalma. In a recent Spapshot from Italy at Serious Eats, she wrote that the Italians have an undeserved reputation for hammering their vegetables, cooking them til kingdom come. (Ha. I hadn't thought about the underlying meaning of that phrase! And speaking of phrases, the comments on Serious Eats are interesting, they really hammer Gina for bringing an abomination to asparagus. Clearly, others could benefit from real experience with slow food!)

Slow-Roasted Asparagus are delicious and almost creamy! They're best for fat spears of asparagus and definitely earn a spot in my list of Six Years of Favorite Asparagus Recipes. When we took them to friends recently, there was a small fuss over who got only three spears, not four! Yes, they're that good.

Thank you, Gina, for the inspiration!

COMPLIMENTS!
"I skipped the blanching and cooked the asparagus at that temp for about 40 minutes. It was brown and crispy and so, so good." ~ Jennifer
"Boy! Was. That. Good!!!! I loved the crunchy tops." ~ Sally
"THIS IS SOOOO AMAZING!!" ~ Anonymous


Slow-Roasted Asparagus, another spring classic ♥ AVeggieVenture.com, delicate, dark and dreamy. Low Carb. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Gluten Free.



SLOW-ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour
Serves 4

Water to cover, well-salted
1 pound thick spears of asparagus

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ounce (28g) grated Parmesan
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Set oven to 400F/200C.

PARCOOK THE ASPARAGUS Bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, wash the asparagus well. (Optional: With a vegetable peeler, peel off the skin right up to the tips. Gina doesn't do this but I've learned to appreciate this step.) Snap off the woody end (here's how, Step-by-Step Photos & Video) and discard (though you'll find a very tasty edible bite at the first part of the discarded end, the "cooks treat"). Cook for 3 - 4 minutes, just until beginning to soften but still bright green. Remove from water and drain.

ROAST THE ASPARAGUS Spread a tablespoon of olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. (Gina puts foil down for easy clean-up.) Roll the spears in the oil until they're completely covered. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer on the baking sheet, butted up tight against each other, the tips pointed one direction. Sprinkle the spears with Parmesan, then dot with butter. Roast for about 30 minutes, what Gina calls "roasting the heck out of them", until the asparagus is slightly browned and bubbling. Use a spatula to transfer to a serving dish and serve hot.

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
This would be a great way to serve fresh hot asparagus to guests – so long as there's room in the oven, plating is the only last-minute attention that's required.
If you happen to have individual oven-safe serving dishes, these would make for great presentation. The spears look soo good straight out of the oven, especially how they stick together: part of the charm is how the spears become one. Hmm. How about this? Another way to get the same affect for individual servings would be to use one roasting pan but to separate the asparagus into four separate sections, then lift onto individual plates. Yes, much easier!
One time, I happened to have banana leaves hanging around (doesn't everyone? :-) we'd made tamales the night before) and used them to wrap the spears into individual servings. Very cool looking, I'd definitely do that again.
These are good enough, I recommend making extra. People will want seconds.




A Veggie Venture - Printer Friendly Recipe Graphic





Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables. Join "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-common vegetables, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

© Copyright Kitchen Parade
2008, 2012 (repub) & 2020 (repub)


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. Holy cow! I wonder if Gina realized she get that kind of reaction?! This sounds fabulous Alanna. I think I'll try it this year when the asparagus comes up. Thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I adore roasted asparagus!

    Since I have to be dairy-free, I add a dash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil to mine instead of the butter and cheese.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Another unexpected marvel of slow cooking! I usually like my asparagus just a few seconds shy of completely raw, but this looks too good not to try.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mmmmm, I love how you say the spears of asparagus become one--sounds like the ultimate in comfort food!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm with you Alanna, slow food means for me, the food cooked the way you described it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Alanna,
    I just wanted you to know that I made this tonight -- only, I was cooking a ham roast at 300 degrees, so I skipped the blanching and cooked the asparagus at that temp for about 40 minutes. It was brown and crispy and so, so good. I will definitely do it again this way, especially for guests. Thanks for the idea!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, yum! Have you tried any other type of cheese(s)? I love the idea of splitting into batches to individually plate. How gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sally ~ Soon, soon, soon.

    Karina ~ A great adaptation, for sure. I learned with my asparagus soup recipe how beautiful balsamic vinegar is with asparagus.

    Lydia ~ You and lots of people. This is a keeper.

    Lisa ~ They do sort of glue together.

    Cynthia ~ Aii, we're sympatico again then.

    Jennifer ~ Hello friend! (Jennifer is the one who first called me the veggie evangelist, one of my very favorite bloggers.) I can completely imagine this asparagus served with ham, good choice. That said - may I? - I think what you ended up with is a great batch of roasted asparagus topped with Parmesan and butter. What's not to like about that?!! But I do think that cooking the asparagus twice is what makes this particular recipe unusual, create something different entirely. Hmm. Maybe this demands a side-by-side taste test!

    Priyanka ~ I've just used the Parmesan but do think that a hard cheese is what's called for, otherwise it end up in a puddle of oil and solids versus holding together. That said, how about another side-by-side taste test?!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMay 02, 2008

    i *love* asparagus, and this is an elegant preparation that seems less time- and labor-intensive than making hollandaise.

    plus, it has cheese. so you know it can't be bad.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousJune 05, 2008

    I made the roasted asparagus the other night. Boy! Was. That. Good!!!! I loved the crunchy tops. Thanks SO MUCH for the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  11. THIS IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I love aspargus and thiis recpie is sooo good! great job and thank you....my husband ate it UPPPP!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I missed this post back in 08. Good thing you reposted. Yet another way to enjoy asparagus.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Charlie RMay 07, 2012

    Sooo good!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

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