Perfect Roasted Asparagus

I hands-down absolutely love roasting vegetables. Short of microwaving frozen vegetables in water (not great, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes), roasting is the next easiest way to get nutrition on the table. Not only is it one of the easiest, it’s truly one of the tastiest. Roasting vegetables brings out their natural sweetness and creates a great texture.

Secret to Roasting Vegetables

Vegetables prepped to the right size + olive oil + simple spices

Placed on fantastic sheet pan at the right temperature (and maybe a quick mid-cook stir)  then PRESTO!

You have amazing roasted vegetables that make you look like a pro.

Perfect Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus does really well with roasting. One of my grandmothers used to boil the asparagus until it was nearly mush. It took a lot of butter to make it remotely appetizing. If you’ve suffered through boiled into oblivion asparagus, give it one more try by roasting it. I promise you will like it much better. If not, you’ll get a free refund for the cost of this blog post 😉

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Tips for buying and preparing asparagus

I experimented with snapping different aged spears, wondering if the super woody ones would come out much shorter. They all come out about the same. So when you buy the bunch, look for spears that are more colored than woody all the way down. Choose the bunch that looks perkiest with bright green, purple, or white colors appropriate for the variety.

You’ll end up with more edible asparagus if you do a little prep work when you bring it home from the store. Trim the spears then “plant” the bunch in a cup with about an inch or two of water. Cover the rest of the bunch loosely and refrigerate. If you don’t have much room in the fridge, you could try wrapping the bottoms in a moist paper towel and wrapping in plastic or beeswax wrap. The less time between buying and using will optimize freshness.

Do you like asparagus? Try this and let me know how it went. Or tell me your favorite vegetable to roast in the comments!