Two fast and easy asparagus recipes for a spring dinner
The trees and the lawn are green, but don’t forget about spring’s best green vegetable: asparagus.
Try these two ways to prepare it fast: one for the grill as a side dish with honey, almonds and feta, and the other part of a one-pan dinner alongside sweet potatoes and smoked sausage.
Honey Almond Asparagus with Feta Cheese
4 sheets (12-by-18-inches each) heavy-duty aluminum foil
1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Preheat grill to medium-high or oven to 450 degrees.
Center one-fourth of asparagus on each sheet of foil.
Place honey and garlic into a small heatproof bowl and stir to combine. Warm honey in microwave for 10 to 15 seconds to thin. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the honey over each asparagus packet. Season with salt and pepper then top with sliced almonds.
Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Repeat to make four packets. Place packets on a cookie sheet.
Grill until asparagus is fork tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with feta cheese before serving.
One-Pan Sausage with Sweet Potato and Asparagus
1 bunch asparagus, cut in half
10 ounces smoked sausage, sliced
2 cups sweet potato, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper.
Add the sweet potato, asparagus and sausage to the sheet pan.
Drizzle olive oil on the top of the sausage mixture and season with thyme, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Toss well to coat.
Place in the oven for 15-18 minutes. If you prefer the asparagus more tender, you can place only the sausage and the sweet potato in the oven for 5 minutes and then add the asparagus.
Yield: 4 servings.
This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Two fast and easy asparagus recipes for a spring dinner."