Ina Garten is the comfort food culinary queen. But this home cook icon also has plenty of elevated, dinner-party worthy dishes in her sprawling oeuvre. Today, we’re taking directions out of Garten’s playbook with one side-dish hack that’s as simple as it is effective: Add parmesan to roasted asparagus for savory depth. Oven-roasting asparagus avoids the infamous mushy, stringy, sorely overcooked texture that can befall this veggie with other cooking techniques. To really help that crispy asparagus shine, a sprinkle of parmesan emphasizes its natural savory depth on the palate. Plus, to please picky eaters, a little cheese can make any vegetable more accessible.
The tip comes from a recipe posted on the official Barefoot Contessa website. To make a knockout parm-roasted asparagus, says Garten, simply drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper over a baking sheet lined with asparagus. After 15 to 20 minutes in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven, pull the asparagus out and sprinkle it with a generous pinch of parmesan, baking for one more minute to melt the cheese. That’s it. As always, feel free to add as much cheese as you please. According to Garten, ½ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese is the right amount per 2 ½ pounds of fresh asparagus. Pro tip: Be sure to line your baking sheet with a layer of aluminum foil for easier cleanup later on.
The Barefoot Contessa busts out the parmesan for ultra-savory asparagus
For a knockout side dish, plate your roasted parmesan asparagus with a few lemon wedges and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to complete the dish, as we do in our simple roasted asparagus recipe. Feeling a tad hungrier? There’s no reason why roasted parmesan asparagus can’t function as a flavorful entree.
You could turn that parmesan asparagus duo into a tart by layering the two ingredients on top of puff pastry. Add some fresh garlic scapes or roasted shallots, cracked black pepper, and a brush of melted butter or high-quality olive oil, and you’ve got a quick vegetarian brunch that’ll impress guests. If you prefer a more pungent flavor profile, take a cue from our asparagus goat cheese tart recipe and add a finishing sprinkle of parmesan on top.
To apply the parm-asparagus combo to dinnertime, you could chop that roasted asparagus and serve it over a bed of store-bought, cheesy tortellini or pierogi; top each bowlful with freshly grated parmesan, toasted pine nuts, and a scoop of caramelized mushrooms. Alternatively, to keep the pasta train rolling, you could whip up this asparagus, leek, and pancetta pasta, which showcases freshly grated parmesan alongside the dark green veggie. Serve with a glass of chilled sauvignon blanc. The honeydew and vegetal green bell pepper notes, medium-light body, and dry acidity all make a bright complement to the richness of this deep veggie dish.
