Roasted Asparagus Recipe with Miso Lime Dressing

One of the things I remember most vividly about Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was the elation the family felt when the first spears of asparagus pushed through the soil at the start of spring. Kingsolver and her family dedicated themselves to sustaining themselves for a year only on foods they grew or raised (or ones found within a short distance from their home). If that was me, I would have been doing an embarrassingly enthusiastic happy dance if I discovered my black thumb hadn’t led us straight down the path to starvation. And then I’d pull out every asparagus recipe in my arsenal and have a big ol’ green spear feast.

Besides refining their horticultural skills, the Kingsolver family learned several other important lessons, ones that stuck with me months after I finished reading the book. First of all, never ever name the animals that you are going to slaughter and eat. It’s much harder to roast up Clucker for Sunday dinner if you began bonding upon hatching. Check, got that one.

Second, if you are going to dedicate yourself to eating only foods you have grown or raised yourself or by neighborly farmers for a year, prepare yourself for the fact that your smoothies will be sadly banana-less. Well, unless you live somewhere very tropical, that is.

This book is truly well worth reading. While packing the book with plenty of facts about the benefits of eating locally produced food and researching how the animals are treated, Kingsolver tells her family’s story with plenty of wit and without preaching. While I know that it’s highly unlikely my family and I will ever live solely from foods we grow and raise, it does encourage us to expand our vegetable and herb garden a little bit each year. Tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, spaghetti squash, eggplant, peppers and about half a dozen herbs. We haven’t attempted asparagus yet, but our love of the springtime vegetable may inspire us to change that next year.

{Update: The winner of the Epiphanie camera bag from this post is comment #1846, Melody Fury (Gourmet Fury) who said, “What an amazing year it’s been for you, m’dear! Congrats in more ways than 1. I’d love to try your Grilled Tri-Tip Steak with Molasses Chili Marinade.” Congratulations, Melody! You are going to love your Epiphanie Bag. I will be emailing you with the details.}

The recipe:

The dressing:
In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, water, miso and pepper until smooth.

While whisking slowly pour in the olive oil until the dressing is combined.

The asparagus:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Trim the tough ends from the asparagus and place the asparagus on a baking sheet.

Toss the asparagus with olive oil and pepper until coated.

Lay the asparagus on the baking sheet, in a single layer.

Roasted the asparagus until it is just tender, 12 to 18 minutes (depending on the thickness of the asparagus).

Serve the asparagus warm or room temperature, with some of the miso dressing drizzled over top (use as much as you like, to your taste).

More asparagus recipes:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Asparagus Frittata with Smoked Paprika, Thyme & Feta Cheese
Cookin’ Canuck’s Asparagus with Hazelnuts & Dried Cherries
Kalyn’s Kitchen’s Vegan Asparagus Salad with Tomatoes, Hearts of Palm & Chives
Pham Fatale’s Asparagus Chicken Stir-Fry
Crumb’s Asparagus Ricotta Tart

Tagged as: asparagus, dressing, healthy, miso, roasted, side dish, vegetable, vegetarian