Oven Roasted Asparagus with Truffle Oil and Parmigiano-Reggiano

By Kelley on April 18, 2011 | Sides, Vegetables Jump To Recipe

This evening marks the beginning of Passover, an eight day Jewish festival, celebrating the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. (Don’t I sound smart?) I wasn’t raised Jewish but my husband was. We don’t do a full out Seder but I do try to recreate some of the foods he ate with his family growing up. We’ll be enjoying brisket with butter beans (a recipe his grandma used to make and I’m trying for the first time!), a green salad, and this asparagus. I think asparagus is the perfect spring vegetable. I remember picking it as a kid and to this day it’s one of my favorites. Funny though, I couldn’t eat it when I was pregnant. For that matter, I could barely look at it without gagging. I don’t know what it was but with both of my pregnancies I had definite asparagus aversion.
To toast not being pregnant and the beginning of passover, asparagus is on the menu in the Epstein house tonight!

This is a quick side dish that can be put together in no time. I prefer thin pencil like asparagus over the thick stalks but use what you like. You’ll need to add a few minutes to the cooking time if you pick up some jumbo asparagus. I know a lot of people peel asparagus before cooking it but I don’t. For no other reason than I’m lazy and the stringy parts just don’t bother me. It is important, however, to trim the woody bottoms of the asparagus. You can cut them but I prefer to snap them. When you hold a stalk of asparagus in your hand and gently bend it, it will break off where it’s supposed to! Truffle oil is simply olive oil that has been infused with either white or black truffles. The real stuff is expensive but a little goes a long way. It’s definitely worth the price in my mind. I use it as a finishing oil to drizzle on pasta dishes, roast chicken or fish, and oven roasted vegetables.