Pan Roasted Asparagus with Garlic Chips and Parmesan
Earth Day is this Wednesday! Garnering inspiration from an article I read this morning about how eating a vegetarian diet can affect the Earth (more on this later), I decided to try my hand at all-vegetarian meals this weekend, and asparagus was my first thought. Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables in the world. It is incredibly versaitle and tastes fantastic cooked in so many different ways: grilled, oven-roasted, blanched, steamed (I could go on but I’m starting to sound like Bubba from Forest Gump with his shrimp). However, I’m pretty sure that this pan roasted asparagus with garlic chips and parmesan is my all-time favorite way to east asparagus. This is an adaptation of a recipe I saw years ago in an old issue of Cook’s Illustrated, and after the very first time I made it I knew it was one of those recipes I would not soon forget.
My inspiration for this recipe came in a slightly unexpected way. My morning commute on the subway can be a pretty dreary event, and usually I’ll look for ways to entertain myself for those 45 minutes. My go-to subway time-killers are usually thinking about and researching recipes, or reading the free daily newspapers that are handed out at pretty much every station entrance in the city. On this gorgeous spring morning these two time-killers came together to inspire my dinner for tonight: Kale and Cannellini Bean Saldad with a side of this Pan Roasted Asparagus with Garlic Chips and Parmesan. Here’s how: the Metro daily newspaper had a 4 page spread about Earth Day, and what we can do in our every day lives to help positively impact the environment. And although it makes perfect sense, I never realized until now how a vegetarian diet is, as they call is, “the diet that saves the Earth.” Did you know: vegetarians use up to 3.53 times less food-related water, and cause 2.34 times less food related carbon dioxide emissions than meat eaters. The newspaper breaks it down into two 3-meal days, one with meat at each meal and one solely vegetarian. The water used to produce the food consumed in the meat-heavy day added up to 5,223 liters compared to the 1,482 liters used to produce the food for the vegetarian only day. Plus, the meat eater’s food production cause 5.247 kg of carbon dioxide emissions, while the vegetarian’s food only cause 2.24 kg of carbon dioxide emissions.
Of course there are pros and cons to both a vegetarian and omnivore diet, but I happen to find these statistics pretty fascinating. If you’re interested in reading more about this vegetatian/omnivore debate, check out this Washington Post article called Vegetarian or omnivore: The environmental implications of diet. This article takes on both sides, and comes to a conclusion that I generally agree with: while we don’t all need to be vegetarians, I think we should all be more aware of the amount of meat we consume and where our meat comes from. Personally, I don’t think I would ever want to give meat up for good, but I commend and have great admiration for those who have chosen to live this way (shout out to all my vegetarian friends and family!)
All politics aside, let’s get to cooking! This Asparagus with Garlic Chips and Parmesan is incredibly easy and is a perfect side for any dish: vegetarian or meat! I used asparagus on the thinner side, and seeing as these cook a bit quicker it took me less than 15 minutes to make this dish from start to finish. Pan-roasting the asparagus gives you more control over your heat source, allowing the asparagus to brown and caramelize on the outside while keeping that crisp bite and not becoming total mush on the inside. But the toppings are my favorite part of this dish: the parmesan adds the saltiness that the asparagus needs, and the garlic chips are… well need I say more than garlic chips? I could eat these straight out of a bag as a snack, they’re that good. Warning: if you’re planning on doing any close talking or kissing, you might want to brush you’re teeth first, or at least be sure that all parties involved have consumed said garlic chips. The rule in my house is: whenever we cook something garlicky, everyone there has to eat it so there is no one left to complain about someone’s garlic breath (no one is arguing with this one, we all love garlic). Anyway, read on for my favorite asparagus recipe!
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- 3+ large garlic cloves (use as many as you like!)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- parmesan cheese to taste
- Peel the garlic gloves (don’t smash them, you want to keep them whole!) and slice them as thinly as possible. Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat until it shimmers, then add the garlic slices. Let them fry until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 1-2 minutes. Keep an eye on them closely as they will burn quickly, and burt garlic takes on a bitter taste.
- Remove garlic chips and let drain on paper towels. Add trimmed asparagus to same pan with the oil, so that the asparagus cooks in the oil that has absorbed all the garlic flavor. Let asparagus cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on the outside but still retains a slight bite, 5-10 minutes.
- Remove asparagus and while still warm top with parmesan cheese and toasted garlic chips.
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