Grilled Asparagus

I went to the store the other day, asparagus was on sale. I love asparagus. It’s healthy, and, if you’ve read some of my other posts, I like to have a healthy balanced diet. One way to do that is to make sure there’s something green on every plate. And, asparagus is green, so that’s a good thing. Most of my meal planning happens at the store. What’s on sale and what can I have with it. Well asparagus is a versatile side dish I can pair with anything, and, it’s a versatile side dish that can be cooked in many ways. But today I’m going to grill it, read on for grilled asparagus

The introduction

Asparagus has been cultivated for thousands of years. Evidence of it has been found in ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and, the romans loved the stuff. It’s even mentioned in one of the earliest cook books from the first century. It was originally touted as a medicinal plant, having diuretic properties, and also an aphrodisiac. It is available in regular and white. White asparagus is cultivated with the shoots covered so no photosynthesis takes place and the stalks stay white. White asparagus is popular in Europe and Western Asia. It’s a summer plant, however, because it’s grown in many continents, it’s available all year. It’s healthy too, high in vitamin K, Thiamine, Riboflavin and Folate. One serving also has 16% of your daily Iron. The simple rule of having something green on every plate works.

The prep

When it comes too cooking asparagus, well, there’s lots of possibilities. But, it’s hard to top the grill. It’s a little sweeter, and the slight caramelization just adds to the flavor. And, a very good friend of mine had given me an indoor grill, so on the grill it is.

But the prep is everything. I’m going to leave the shoots whole, but I’ll cut off the bottom third, the bottoms tend to get a little hard to chew. Rinse the shoots, please read this post for more info. I love to add garlic to everything, it’s such a flavor enhancer. Fresh garlic is tough here, however garlic powder works well. Pour some olive oil on a plate and roll the asparagus shoots around to coat (a plate works better than a bowl here, the shoots stay flat). Now sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

The cook

If I’m cooking one thing on the grill, well, its probably the whole meal, so, the grill is preheated already. And, probably has something else on it too. As I have mentioned in other posts, timing is everything when cooking. Working backwards from when you want everything done, various components get added at different times. The asparagus takes approximately 12-15 mins. So, 15 mins from when everything else will be ready, lay the asparagus in a single layer on the grill. Allow them 4-5 mins, then roll them over, and allow another 4-5 mins. You’ll see, they’re getting the grill marks on the shoots and they’re softening up. Give them another few mins and you should be done. If they need a little more time, just plate them last.

That’s it, grilled asparagus, adds some color to the plate and some goodness to the meal. Thank you for reading and enjoy.