Lemon Roasted Asparagus

Don't you just love summer?  It's that yummy time of year when all of the glorious produce comes in season.  I absolutely love visiting the farmers market and picking up produce from our local farmers.  I recently picked up some wonderful asparagus that I wanted to serve as a side dish with a meal I was preparing.  When produce is actually in season, I don't like to do too much to it in regards to flavoring and seasoning because it already tastes so good in it's pure form.

Lemon Roasted Asparagus in the perfect side-dish for any meal.  Serve it with some rice pilaf or couscous and you have a light, summer meal that won't weigh you down.

Lemon Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 lb. asparagus

2.5 lemons (slice 2 and leave the other one half for juicing)

Olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Prep. your asparagus.  Wash and remove the tough ends (cut off approximately 1-2" on the non-tree-looking end).  If you like, you can reserve these for later to use in a cream of asparagus soup or another one of your favorite dishes.  Or if not, just discard.

Lay out asparagus out on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Squeeze the juice of half a lemon on top of asparagus, then add lemon slices.  Use your hands to toss and make sure all of the asparagus and lemons are coated nicely with the olive oil, salt and pepper.

Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the ends of the asparagus start to become caramelized and slightly browned.

Once asparagus are finished cooking, remove from oven and serve.  I like to serve asparagus spears piled up with several lemon slices.  My husband is not a huge veggie eater, but he loves this dish.  The acidity in the lemons really brings out the deliciously nutty flavor in the roasted asparagus.  Try this with fish, chicken or pork or you could even roast some up and add it to your favorite pasta dish!

  Happy Summer Produce Season!