Honey Balsamic Glazed Asparagus

Can we all agree that when it is not raining here in New England, the weather has been just beautiful recently?

Boston, MA

I wanted to take some time with the windows open and the breeze pouring through the share a quick but yummy side dish I made recently.

If you check out my last post, you can get more of an idea as to why I have been slightly MIA from the blog world, and when you can expect me back in full swing!

One of my favorite veggies is asparagus. It has such great flavor and pairs well with so many different meals. I usually will just roast up a bunch of full spears with lots of salt, cracked black pepper and a little lemon juice drizzled on top. Sprinkle that with Parmesan cheese and we are totally in business.

I decided to try something a little different this weekend and I was quite pleased with the results.

I roughly chopped the asparagus and sauteed in a little bit of lemon olive oil (O brand), then tossed it all in honey and balsamic vinegar until a lovely glaze formed. I balanced the sweetness of the honey and the bite of the balsamic with just a dash of chili powder and some salt and pepper to taste.

 The end result was tender and flavorful asparagus that paired beautiful with roasted red potatoes (recipe here) and a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.



Here's what you need for Honey Balsamic Glazed Asparagus:

1 pound fresh asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons honey
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon each salt and cracked black pepper
1 dash of chili powder (or a pinch of red pepper flakes)

Here's what you do:

Trim the rough ends off of the asparagus.
Chop the asparagus into 1 to 2 inch pieces.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add in the oil. Add the asparagus and toss to coat evenly. Season with salt and pepper. and the lemon juice.

Cook the asparagus for 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Reduce heat to low. Drizzle the honey over the asparagus, again tossing to coat (it is important that every spear gets a little honey love!)
Pour in the vinegar. Stir gently. Let the asparagus continue to cook over low heat 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. During this time, the asparagus will become very tender and the balsamic and honey will reduce together to form a glaze.

Sprinkle with chili powder or red pepper flakes. Serve warm.

As you can see, I added some freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the asparagus and potatoes. I'm a little selfish in that way. Feel free to leave this out.

I want to talk quickly about the olive oil I used for this. I recently purchased a sample pack from O Olive Oil that came with a lemon olive oil, roasted garlic olive oil, and a clementine olive oil. These are amazing because there are some great flavors already infused into the oil, and the flavors are very bright. I use the lemon one quite frequently (including this dish. If you have lemon olive oil on hand, don't add the lemon juice). I have used it in homemade salad dressings, drizzled over fish filets, and for veggie sautees. The garlic one is great for pan frying chicken or ground meat. I haven't yet opened the clementine one. I'm not quite sure what to do with it but I can't wait to try it!