Description
This lovely version of roasted asparagus with lemon sauce is a terrific recipe to add to your repertoire. It is a terribly easy and nutritious recipe. Cold or warm, this recipe is great. Think leftovers too!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed
- 3 tablespoons melted ghee, lard or tallow
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- Sauce ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Line a 9 x 13 inch baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Lay the asparagus on the prepared baking sheet, then pour the ghee over the top.
- Sprinkle with the salt, pepper and onion powder, then use the palms of your hands to roll the asparagus back and forth until the stalks are coated on all sides.
- Make sure that the asparagus stalks are evenly spaced on the pan and that there is a bit of room between them.
- Roast for 9-20 minutes (see my note about this in the intro), until tender enough for your liking. Thinner stalks will cook faster, so keep an eye on them to make sure that they aren’t overdone.
- While the asparagus are cooking, make the sauce:
- Place the lemon juice, zest, and mustard in a blender or food processor.
- Blend on low speed.
- While continuing to blend, very slowly drizzle in the olive oil, drop by drop, until the sauce is thoroughly combined and creamy.
- Place the asparagus on a serving platter, pour the sauce over the top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Thicker stalks of asparagus sometimes have a tough outer layer of skin, but you can use a vegetable peeler to remove it. Press lightly from right below the tip down to the bottom of the stalk, then turn the asparagus and repeat until all of the skin is removed. Apparently you can also purchase an asparagus trimmer that is designed just for the peeling of this one vegetable. I do not own one.
Suggestion:
Try sprinkling a couple of tablespoons of toasted slivered almonds or pine nuts over the top of the asparagus right before serving to give your dish a little extra crunch and texture. You can also grill the asparagus instead of roasting them, to add a bit of a charred flavor that mixes nicely with the tangy lemon sauce. Just prepare the asparagus with the ghee and spices as you would if roasting. Then place directly onto a preheated grill and cook over high heat for about 5 minutes.
