Asparagus season in Northern California hasn’t started yet, although it will be soon. With unseasonably warm weather in January everything is a few weeks ahead. The asparagus below came from Argentinia and buying it is totally against my politics. But, I was craving it. It looked amazing, not like the asparagus you usually see this time of year in the grocery store. At first, I thought it came from a local grower. The ends were fresh looking, the stalks were snappy and of a good size, the heads sere still closed…my barriers came down.

Asparagus

In my book the two best ways to cook asparagus are roasting in a hot oven. and grilling them. For grilling either a BBQ or stove top grill pan works well. Of course you can also stir fry them with other ingredients (also excellent), but I am writing today about the way to bring out the very best asparagus flavor which is uncluttered by other ingredients.

Roast Asparagus

• 1 – 2 bunches of fresh asparagus, tops closed, snappy and medium thickness
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher or sea salt
• 1 lemon (to grate the rind)
• freshly grated parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
2. Wash the asparagus by swishing the stalks in a pan of water
3. Snap off the bottom woody part, this should happen naturally if you bend the stalk
4. Line a baking pan with parchment paper
5. Lay the asparagus in the pan in one layer, drizzle with olive oil and turn to coat, sprinkle the stalks with salt
6. Bake for 15 minutes until done to your liking (start checking at 12 minutes), we like ours still crisp but beginning to char and soften at the tops.
7. Remove from the oven and grate the rind of a lemon over the asparagus, sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan.

Baked Asparagus with lemon rind and parmesan