previous next

Roasted Asparagus with Garlic Sauce

posted in Soups, Salads, Sides and Sauces by Kathy Maister
Difficulty:
difficulty rating

Leslie Arthur is today’s guest blogger. Her recipe for Roasted Asparagus with Garlic Mayo can be served as an easy and healthy appetizer or finger-friendly side dish.

Thanks, Leslie, for a great recipe!
*****

Asparagus (which is high in folic acid, potassium, fiber and vitamin B6) has only 4 calories per spear! With all that going for this delicious vegetable, its no wonder asparagus has landed itself on menus everywhere.

Start by rinsing off a pound of asparagus in a colander.

After a thorough washing, pat the spears dry with paper towels to get off any excess moisture. Now, break one stalk where it is naturally the weakest. This will separate the tender top part of the asparagus from its tough and fibrous stem. You will end up discarding about one third of the stalk. (Kathy shows how to peel asparagus here )

You can now use the new shorter “broken” asparagus as a guide to cut the rest of the bunch.

Spread the spears evenly on a baking sheet. For easy clean up, you can cover the sheet with a layer of tin foil before baking.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the asparagus. Top with a few turns of freshly cracked pepper, and one half teaspoon of coarse salt.

Bake in a 425-degree preheated oven for about 10 minutes.

While the asparagus are roasting, take a moment to make this simple and delicious dipping sauce. Just two ingredients are needed to make this sauce – garlic and mayonnaise. (The lemon is for garnishing the roasted asparagus.)

Start by peeling and grating one small clove of garlic.

Then add the garlic to 1/3 cup of your favorite mayonnaise. I used low-calorie mayo and didn’t miss a thing!

Stir until well blended and transfer to a decorative serving dish.

After 10 minutes in the oven, check the asparagus to see if it’s done. Look for slightly browned and caramelized stems, and a fresh bright-green color. Don’t overcook the spears, or they will become an unattractive, dull shade of pea-green.

Next, transfer the asparagus to a serving platter and sprinkle it with about a tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Garnish the sauce with a bit of lemon zest (optional). You can serve Roasted Asparagus as an easy and healthy appetizer or finger-friendly side dish.

If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.

10 Comments

Kathy Curnow said:

This was not only delicious but looked beautiful for our Easter dinner buffet! The garlic mayonnaise was a real hit! I will definitely make this again because your step-by-step directions were so easy to follow. I love this site! Keep those recipes coming and thanks, Leslie, for a real treat!!

Char said:

This recipe looks so yummy! I picked up some asparagus at the store yesterday – now I know what I am going to do with it.

Carole said:

I wanted to run out and buy asparagus at 11:00 at night it seemed so good just reading it! Can’t wait to try the real thing. Thanks.

Santa Clarita Mom said:

Wow- This looks much better than what I normally do with asparagus. Boil it. I’m going to give this a shot. Sounds really good.

SeaBird said:

Yum – this looks delicious and super quick!

Cribcat (Greg Clark) said:

Is that jack cheese or the sauce? I’d replace the olive oil with butter but that is a picture of perfection any way you look at it. Nice

Leslie said:

Hi Greg,

The “jack cheese” is actually a bit of the garlic mayo artfully spead out across the asparagus. You should try it….so good!

wafa said:

thanx ,

Win said:

joy said:

Wow…I most love this kind with sauce….Whereas the making process is way too complicated to me!

More content