With summer here, there is an abundance of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables that can easily found at your local grocery store, farmer's market, or co-op. Fruits and vegetables never seem to taste as good as it does when it's in season. They seem to be more full of flavor, last longer, and of course, fresh! When asparagus is in season, I can never get enough of it. It's simple to cook and is loaded with nutrients like vitamins A, C, & K, iron, potassium, fiber, and B vitamins. It's also very low in calories, only 20 calories in a 1/2 cup of cooked asparagus!
Extra virgin olive oil is a great source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, considered the "healthy fats". Monounsaturated & polyunsaturated fats can help lower your LDL or bad cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association recommends that for good heart health, a majority of the fats you eat come from monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, instead of foods with saturated and trans fat.
I use the Dafni Greek Lemoni Olive Oil in this recipe not only for the nutritional benefits, but also because it adds more flare to the the traditional roasted asparagus recipes. The olive oil has lemon juice, sea salt, and oregano in it, which complements the asparagus very well!
Lemon Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients
- ~2 pounds of fresh asparagus
- Dafni Greek Lemoni Olive oil
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1 Lemon juiced, optional
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus and lay flat on a baking sheet
- Either brush on the olive oil or drizzle it and toss, coating evenly
- Top with fresh ground pepper to taste
- If you really love lemon like I do, squeeze additional lemon juice over the asparagus
- Bake for approximately 25 minutes until tender--- halfway through, I tend to flip them to make sure they are getting crisp on all sides
