April 24, 2012

Grilled Parmesan Asparagus {Naptime Everyday}

Grilled Asparagus

What’s Going on Today: Grilling Season kick-off!

You know you live in the Northeast when the first day of grilling is a family event. My husband and I are grilling fanatics and although we technically could grill all year long (frostbite is no biggy, right?), we save our tried and true grilling days for summer. This year our first grilling feast happened to coincide with the beginning of asparagus season so we decided to combine two of our favorite spring food events for a little grilled experiment.

Ina Garten’s roast asparagus with Parmesan is one of our all-time favorite ways to make asparagus so I decided to see if I could translate that to the grill. We usually grill asparagus raw without any prior marinating. If the heat is medium-low the thick stalks cook through without blistering too much. For my new recipe we grilled the asparagus over indirect medium heat and drizzled it with a spritz of lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and Parmesan after it had been transferred to a platter. The Parmesan melted instantly over the smokey hot asparagus. We didn’t return it to the grill to melt further like in Ina’s oven roasted version. Instead we just let the heat of the freshly cooked vegetables take care of that.

We loved the final result from our grilled asparagus experiment. In short order the raw asparagus was cooked through, tender, and sweet. The salty Parmesan provided just the right contrast to the blistered asparagus skin. I can already tell you this will be added to our roster of favorite grilling recipes this summer. Let the season begin!

Recipe

Grilled Parmesan Asparagus

Ingredients

1 bunch fresh asparagus (thick stalks preferable), ends trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lemon wedge
1 pinch kosher salt
1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Warm a grill to medium heat and place the asparagus indirectly over the heat (just the side of the main heat source). Cook it for about 2 – 3 minutes per side, rolling it gently as necessary until the grill marks cover the stalks and the skin is lightly blistered.

2. Remove the asparagus from the heat and place it on a large tray. Immediately drizzle it with the olive oil and a squeeze from the lemon wedge. Then scatter a pinch of salt over it, followed by a dusting of Parmesan cheese.

Naptime Notes

Naptime Recipe Serving ideas

We served this with grilled chicken, zucchini and portabello mushrooms!

Naptime Stopwatch

15 minutes cook time

Naptime Reviews

A delicious easy summer grilling recipe that we loved!

More Naptime Recipes

3 Responses to “Grilled Parmesan Asparagus {Naptime Everyday}”

  1. Meaghz says:

    Looks delicious!  I am hosting an asparagus-themed linky party if you want to submit this recipe:
    http://www.2sisters2cities.com/2012/03/fresh-produce-tuesday-week-1-asparagus/
    -m

  2. […] This has been a real favorite for pairing with fish tacos fresh off the the grill and our Parmesan grilled asparagus. It is also fun for mom’s night out. (As an aside, I later tried the DMZ Chardonnay with the […]

  3. […] round out the meal we usually serve it with Grilled Parmesan Asparagus. This whole meal comes together in just minutes and is perfectly satisfying for summer. Stay tuned […]