Slow-Roasted Asparagus ♥

Today's asparagus recipe: Spears of asparagus quick-cooked, topped with grated Parmesan and dotted butter, then roasted. Low carb but definitely not low-calorie. Delicate, dark and dreamy.

These days, when people talk about slow food, it's generally code for Slow Food, the Italian organization that's become an international movement, one that fights the disappearance of local food traditions, people’s dwindling interest in the food we eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

But not me, when I write about slow food, I mean slow food quite literally, that is, food cooked unusually slowly, sloooooow food.

This obsession with all-things-slow, it started with my first forays into slow-roasted tomatoes and really picked up steam with the life-changing slow-baked potatoes. But I would never-ever-ever have guessed that asparagus -- so lovely when steamed just-til-done, you know, that tender-crisp point of perfection -- would turn into some entirely different vegetable when cooked for such a long time.

The inspiration came from pastry chef and cookbook author Gina DePalma. In a recent Spapshot from Italy at Serious Eats, she wrote that the Italians have an undeserved reputation for 'hammering their vegetables', cooking them til kingdom come. (Ha. I hadn't thought about the underlying meaning of that phrase! And speaking of phrases, the comments on Serious Eats are interesting, they really 'hammer' Gina for bringing an abomination to asparagus. Clearly, others could benefit from real experience with slow food!)

These are delicious! They won't replace all my other favorite asparagus recipes and they're best for fat spears of asparagus but add this recipe to an already long list of all the great ways to enjoy asparagus. Thank you, Gina, for the inspiration!

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RECIPES from the ARCHIVES
~ more asparagus recipes ~
~ more slow-food recipes ~
~ unusually raw vegetables, the other end of the spectrum ~

SLOW-ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour
Serves 4

Water to cover, well-salted
1 pound asparagus

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ounce Parmesan, grated
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Bring the water to a boil. Preheat oven to 400F.

Meanwhile, wash asparagus well. (Optional: With a vegetable peeler, peel off the skin right up to the tips. Gina doesn't do this but I've learned to appreciate this step.) Snap off the woody end, discard (though you'll find a very tasty edible bite at the first part of the discarded end, the 'cooks treat'). Cook for 3 - 4 minutes, just until beginning to soften but still bright green. Remove from water and drain.

Spread a tablespoon of olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. (Gina puts foil down for easy clean-up.) Roll the spears in the oil until they're completely covered. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer on the baking sheet, butted up tight against each other, the tips pointed one direction. Sprinkle spears with Parmesan, then dot with butter.

Roast for about 30 minutes, what Gina calls "roast the heck out of them", until they are slightly browned and bubbling. Use a spatula to transfer to a serving dish.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 96 Cal (61% from Fat, 20% from Protein, 18% from Carb); 5 g Protein; 7 g Tot Fat; 3 g Sat Fat; 3 g Mono Fat; 5 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb3; 2 g Sugar; 106 mg Calcium; 3 mg Iron; 111 mg Sodium; 10 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point (but soooo on the verge of 2)

KITCHEN NOTES
This would be a great way to serve fresh hot asparagus to guests -- plating is the only last-minute attention that's required.
If you happen to have individual oven-safe serving dishes, these would make for great presentation. The spears look soo good straight out of the oven, especially how they stick together: part of the charm is how the spears become one. Hmm. How about this? Another way to get the same affect for individual servings would be to use one roasting pan but to separate the asparagus into four separate sections, then lift onto individual plates. Yes, much easier!

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