We can’t really remember exactly where this recipe came from (which means we can’t remember who we stole it from) but it’s our default non-salad vegetable for the most part. We love Rosemary anyway (which is good, because if you plant one you’ll have Rosemary for the rest of your life) and Asparagus is such a great vehicle for it that we tend to eat it all the time. It’s a great side for our fancy Beef Tenderloin, it’s super with brunch, and it also makes a fun finger food. Roasting Asparagus beats the pants off of steaming it any day. It intensifies the flavors and prevents sliminess.

Anyway, we usually prefer our Asparagus prepared in one of two ways: puréed in soup or roasted. This recipe employs the latter method and it is by far our número uno favorite of the two.

• 1 bunch fresh Asparagus spears, try to pick a bunch that has fairly uniformly sized stalks so they’ll cook evenly.

• 1 Tbsp finely minced fresh Rosemary, about a 5 or 6 inch stem should do it

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Thoroughly wash the Asparagus and snap off the tough ends, if you just bend them on the fat end they’ll break in the right place. Lay them out on a baking sheet, drizzle them with Olive Oil, sprinkle them with the Rosemary and the Salt & Pepper, toss them all around until the Asparagus is all evenly coated(your hands work best for this), and pop them in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes.

We know that’s a wide spread of time but Asparagus stalks can be thinner than a pencil or thicker than your finger. For the thin ones don’t go any longer than 5 minutes or they’ll turn into floppy, flaccid mush, the thick ones will probably be perfect at about 10 minutes. The goal here is to leave them with a bit of snap in their stem and a nice firm bite.

We categorized this as Vegetables, Sides and Appetizers because, though they’re the perfect side dish, they actually make great, if a bit messy, finger food and they’re really fantastic with Champagne or other Sparkling White Wine.

Cheers!