Lemon Tarragon Asparagus
Hey!!! You know how I said I had this nice little urban garden in my last post and was sharing my herbs with my neighbor? Well, I decided this time not to share and to keep the extra tarragon to make this light lemon tarragon asparagus dish. I’ll share some more with my neighbor tomorrow to make up for the injustice. I do realize that asparagus season is well past but wouldn’t you know, I managed to find some at the store recently that was in good condition so just had to try something new.
I love side dishes that are easy. I mean really easy. That’s what happens when you have a busy schedule and a family of five… you make things the easy way whenever you can. This dish has a mere 5 ingredients and that’s if you count the salt and pepper. Since asparagus is a summery green veggie, grilling it is always in season and that’s my preferred method. Now, I don’t get all fancy with skewers, I just toss some olive oil in a cast iron skillet with a dash of salt and pepper and place the skillet right on the grill grates. You’ll need to keep a close eye on these little guys so they don’t go from grilled perfection to mush. Mushy asparagus is NEVER good.
Give ’em a good sauté until they’re tender crisp and while they’re cooking, have your sous chef chop up the fresh tarragon from your garden and zest a lemon. Oh wait, you don’t have a sous chef?! Hmm. I don’t either. I guess it would be wise to do your chopping ahead of time so you can enjoy a beverage while grilling.
So here you have it, another ode to the end of summer.
- 1 pound of asparagus, woody ends chopped off
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat your grill to medium heat.
- Place asparagus in a flame proof skillet (like cast iron) and drizzle with olive oil.
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
- When the asparagus starts to show some browning, stir/turn it and add lemon zest and tarragon.
- Saute asparagus until tender crisp - roughly 5-7 minutes depending on how your skillet takes up heat so keep an eye on it so it doesn't turn black or get mushy. When in doubt, steal a spear from the skillet and sample it. Cook until its tenderness meets your approval.
- Place in serving bowl and toss with lemon juice.
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