Barely Roasted Asparagus ♥ Recipe

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.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving (assumes 1 tablespoon of the oil is consumed): 60Cal; 3g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 14mg Sodium; 6g Carb; 2g Fiber; 2g Sugar; 3g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

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.

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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

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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.
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