Grilled Asparagus

Asparagus has become a star of the season and it often accompanies as a side dish to any main course. It tastes good with chicken, fish, pork, beef or lamb. Asparagus salad topped with a squeeze of lemon juice also is a hit with people. The beauty of grilled asparagus is that it is simple with fresh asparagus grilled to perfection using very little oil, salt and pepper. The cooking time is not too long, as it gets quickly cooked over high heat on the grill. Also you get to enjoy the natural flavor of the veggies, when they are grilled as compared to other methods of making asparagus. Now let's see the recipes using which you can grill asparagus.

How to Grill Asparagus

There are different ways of grilling asparagus. The most normal is to grill asparagus over the grill, but oven grilled asparagus also make for a fantastic treat.

Recipe # 1
This recipe demands, that asparagus be marinated in a lemony dill mixture and then it be grilled to perfection.

Ingredients

• Fresh Asparagus 1 pound
• Lemon Juice 3 tablespoons
• Olive Oil ¼ cup
• Garlic (minced) 2 cloves
• Dill Weed 1 ½ teaspoons
• Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper as per taste

Method

• Chop the bottom third of the asparagus, i.e. the woody parts of the stalk and discard it.
• Place asparagus in a casserole dish and add lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, dill weed, salt and pepper.
• Toss well, so that asparagus is well coated.
• Let the asparagus marinate for a minimum period of an hour, but ensure you keep tossing the asparagus frequently.
• Insert skewers through the middle of the asparagus spears. An alternative is to place the spears in a greased grill basket.
• Grill over hot coals, till the asparagus are tender, yet crunchy to taste.
• Serve garnished with Diced red bell peppers and lemon wedges.

Recipe # 2
This is my favorite recipe to grill asparagus, as it retains the natural flavors of asparagus and as there are no additions made to the asparagus. Having said that, now let's see how to oven grill asparagus.

Ingredients

• Fresh Asparagus Spears 1 pound
• Olive Oil 1 tablespoon
• Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

Method

• Chop and discard the woody part of the asparagus spears.
• While you get the asparagus ready, heat the grill on high.
• Lightly coat the asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Place the asparagus spears on the grill and grill them on high heat till they are cooked to desired tenderness.
• Serve as a salad or as a side dish.

Recipe # 3
Although I have always liked grilled asparagus, this recipe has totally bowled me over. It tastes fabulous, when served with grilled salmon or grilled chicken.

Ingredients

• Fresh Asparagus 1 pound
• Balsamic Vinegar 3 tablespoons
• Fresh Lemon Juice 2 tablespoons
• Olive Oil 1 tablespoon
• Soy Sauce 1 tablespoon
• Black Pepper ¼ teaspoon
• Salt as per taste
• Cooking Spray

Method

• Heat the grill, till you do the other preparations.
• Snap the woody ends of asparagus.
• In a large zip-top plastic bag, place fresh asparagus, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, soy sauce, salt and black pepper.
• Seal the bag and toss all the ingredients well.
• Let the asparagus marinate for ½ to 1 ½ hours.
• Remove the asparagus from the bag and discard the marinate.
• Place the marinated asparagus on the heated grill rack, which is coated with cooking spray.
• Grill the asparagus for about 5 minutes on either sides, till the asparagus are crunchy as desired.

For more information, read on

• How to Saute Asparagus
• How to Steam Asparagus

After reading about the various recipes to grill asparagus, do you wonder, about the calories in them? Well the number of calories per serving are 53 and there is about 3.5 grams fat in it. The best part is free of cholesterol. Having read about asparagus nutrition facts, when do you plan to make it? Please do not forget to invite me over.