Alright, you know what? Asparagus. This is one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. I get it
when it’s in season. This bunch of asparagus in season was about $1.50. If you get it out of
season, it could cost as much as $5. So not only it is cheaper in season but of course it’s tastier in
season too. I always let the prices drive what I buy because usually a low price means it’s in
season and very tasty.
Just snap your asparagus like this. It will automatically snap where the woody stem ends and the
tender part begins. Use that as a guide. And then I'm going to scoot this down so I can cut off the
woody part of my asparagus stems.
Now I'm going to make roasted asparagus. If you think you don’t like asparagus or if you think
your family doesn’t like asparagus, try it roasted. The flavor is amazing. It is so tasty. It has the
sweet but earthy flavor, really yummy. And look how easy this is. A little bit of olive oil. A little
bit of fresh ground pepper and some salt. Toss it up. And it’s good to go in the oven. Here we go.
Let's give this a little. You know what? Use your hands, it’s easier. Just a little bit of oil works
great. Here we go. And these are going to go right into our 400-degree oven for about 10
minutes.
Now, the vinaigrette that I like to make is a basic French vinaigrette. So the base of that
vinaigrette is mustard. And I like to use Dijon mustard but if you want to use like the grainier
mustard, give it some texture, go right ahead. Have fun with it. Alright, let's get a bowl and start
with about half a teaspoon to a teaspoon of mustard, right here. This is just straight Dijon, gives a
wonderful tangy flavor to that roasted asparagus. It mixes really well with earthiness of the
asparagus. And I'm going to get my whisk ready. And I’ll whisk in about a half a lemon’s worth
of juice. Here we go. Now I'm going to go ahead and use up the other half of the lemon that has
the zest gone. We might as well. And just get a fork in here. Get all that lemon out. Here we go.
Perfect. I love the way the lemon is so fresh. It reminds me of summer. It’s perfect on that
asparagus. And just whisk it together with this mustard. Now, the Dijon not only does it going to
give a flavor and body but it’s also going to help the oil emulsify into the lemon which is going
to make it nice and creamy and delicious. A little pinch of salt. A little bit of freshly ground
black pepper. Now don’t be afraid in your vinaigrettes to put a little more salt and pepper than
you think because it spreads out and it goes right on the vegetables. And that’s really tasty. Okay,
we’re going to put in just about a tablespoon of olive oil.
Alright, here is my roasted asparagus. Let's go ahead and drizzle on that lemon vinaigrette that
we made. It has a touch of Dijon to make it creamy and tasty.
My roasted asparagus in lemon vinaigrette, it boost the flavor, the color without boosting your
grocery belt.