Fresh spring asparagus, lightly sautéed in oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, fresh lime juice, and mint.
True confession here, as a child I despised the asparagus my mother served.
Asparagus were steamed to a dreadfully pathetic wilt, and tasted, I assumed, no better than the old grass clippings trapped in the blades of the lawn mower.
It was only when I decided to overcome my own fear of these precocious green stalks did I come to fully appreciate them.
Now every spring I prepare them the same way—lightly sautéed in a bit of oil, salt and peppered, and then with a good squeeze of lime juice over them to give them a bit of spark!
It was Elise who thought of tossing a bit of mint on them creating a complimentary cooling flavor. So very mojito-esque, minus the rum, of course.
A delicious, easy, and fast preparation for asparagus (which, by the way, should always be eaten with your fingers).
Asparagus with Lime and Mint Recipe
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound of asparagus, trimmed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- 1-2 fresh limes (yielding a total of 1 1/2 Tablespoons of juice)
- 1 teaspoon of fresh mint, chopped or cut in a chiffonade*
*To chiffonade mint, stack a few leaves, roll leaves up like a cigar, starting at one end, make your way down the roll, making thin slices.
Method
1 Sauté asparagus: Heat the oil in a wide sauté or frying pan on medium-high. When the oil is hot, add the asparagus and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, cooking for about 5-6 minutes until just cooked through, but still with some firmness.
2 Sprinkle with lime juice and mint: Put on a plate and squeeze lime juice over the asparagus and sprinkle on the mint.
