Roasted Asparagus with Manchego and Pine Nuts

Roasted Asparagus

Roasted Asparagus

Spring has sprung here in sunny California.  Beautiful flowers, a couple of earthquakes, and tender spring vegetables are in season.  Asparagus is one of my faves, perfectly in season in April and May, and possibly the easiest side dish to make.  Along with peas, leeks, artichokes, and strawberries, we are moving into the part of the year when fresh fruits and veggies are abundant and flavorful, which means I go into a cooking frenzy and don’t resurface until football season starts.

Quick tip: when prepping the asparagus, wash and dry, then bend the spears until you feel the natural snapping point at the bottom, then snap off the tough ends to make sure you are serving only the tender part of the asparagus.

Asparagus roasts so easily, keep an eye on those delicate suckers so they don’t burn.

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Roasted Asparagus

Roasted Asparagus with Manchego and Pine Nuts

Course Sides/Salads/Veggies
Cuisine Keto, Low Carb, NSNG, Vegetarian

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound fresh asparagus, rough ends snapped off
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Salt & Pepper
  • three lemon slices, plus remaining lemon for juice
  • 1 tablespoon raw pine nuts
  • freshly grated manchego cheese, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place foil across a small baking sheet. Lay asparagus spears flat, drizzle with olive oil, a squeeze of the lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Place lemon slices and sprinkle pine nuts across asparagus. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until desired doneness. Garnish with freshly grated manchego cheese, serve.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

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6 Comments:

  • LOVE the new blog look Ana! We were just talking about your blog over lunch today and then I come to get a look tonight and what a pretty surprise!

    xoxo.
    tiffany.
    http://dropsofjupiterBLOG.com

    • Thank you, Tiffany!! And likewise your blog is gorgeous–thank you for stopping by, lovely!!

  • Alison S / Reply

    Love the groovy new look of the site – your recipes are great. Question @ cooking at 400 degrees with olive oil – I had been told the smoke point was too low on olive oil for roasting and to use grapeseed oil for roasting and put on the olive oil afterwards, what do you think?

    • Alison–great question. This seems to be a big debate on the interwebs. I’ve heard a lot lately that the lower smoke point of olive oil is a rumor perpetrated by the manufacturers of grapeseed oil, hahaha!! Who knows if this is true. But if you know you are using a high quality olive oil, you should be okay. That being said, if you like grapeseed oil, macadamia oil, avocado oil, etc, I say go for it! I always encourage folks to substitute whatever works for them–make the recipe your own–and of course, lemme know what you did so we can appreciate it together. Also, if you feel more comfortable lowering the temperature, try it that way too. I like 400 for a shorter time in the oven to get a sear on the asparagus, but I’ve never noticed the oil smoking in pan. Lemme know what you come up with! XOXO

    • I’ll jump in on the smoke point of EVOO from a source more reliable than me. Here is what the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) has to say about frying food with olive oil:

      When heated, olive oil is the most stable fat, which means it stands up well to high frying temperatures. Its high smoke point (410ºF or 210ºC) is well above the ideal temperature for frying food (356ºF or 180ºC). The digestibility of olive oil is not affected when it is heated, even when it is re-used several times for frying

      • Steven, thank you so much for posting this!!! I’ve always roasted veggies in olive oil at 400 in the oven and never had stuff smoke (unless I’ve forgotten about it in the oven for too long), so this must be why. XOXO

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