Baked Asparagus

Dinner

Perfectly roasted green asparagus with whole garlic cloves that turn sweet and sticky in the oven. The asparagus gets tender with crispy, caramelised tips whilst the garlic mellows into something you'll want to squeeze out and spread on everything. Finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon and flaky salt. Simple and seasonal.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 4 as a side dish

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Ingredients  

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• 500 gr asparagus fresh green asparagus, medium thickness works best,
• 3 tbsp olive oil or 40g melted butter
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 lemon
• salt and black pepper
• fleur de sel optional, for finishing

Equipment

• baking tray
• baking mat or parchment paper
• double spatula

Instructions

1. 1. Prepare the asparagus

   Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan)/425°F/Gas Mark 7. You want it properly hot.

   Wash the asparagus and pat dry. Hold each spear at both ends and bend gently, it'll snap naturally where the woody bit ends. Chuck the woody ends. If the asparagus is particularly thick, you can peel the bottom third with a vegetable peeler, but it's not essential.
2. 2. Season and arrange

   Lay the asparagus on your baking tray in a single layer. Don't pile them up or they'll steam instead of roast.

   Drizzle with olive oil (or melted butter if you're feeling French about it). Season with salt and pepper. Toss with your hands to coat everything evenly.

   Scatter the whole garlic cloves amongst the asparagus. They'll roast alongside and become sweet and sticky.
3. 3. Roast

   Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on thickness. Medium spears take about 12 minutes. Fat ones might need 15.

   You want tender asparagus with some caramelised bits and slight wrinkling. The tips should be starting to crisp up. If they're still bright green with no colour, give them another 2-3 minutes.
4. 4. Finish and serve

   Transfer to a serving plate whilst still hot. Squeeze over fresh lemon juice. If you've got fleur de sel, scatter a pinch over the top.

   Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and eat them with the asparagus. They'll be sweet and sticky, not sharp.

   Serve immediately. This doesn't sit around well, it's best straight from the oven.

Notes

• Pencil-thin asparagus will overcook and turn sad. Fat spears take longer but stay tender inside. Medium thickness is the sweet spot.
• Don’t overcrowd your baking tray. Give the asparagus space or they’ll steam rather than roast. Use two trays if needed.
• Butter vs olive oil. The French would use butter. Olive oil is easier and tastes brilliant. Your choice.
• Add parmesan? You can, but it’s not French. Grated parmesan in the last 2 minutes of roasting is lovely, but it’s veering into Italian territory.
• Make it fancy. Shave over some parmesan after roasting, add toasted pine nuts, or drizzle with balsamic reduction. But honestly, the simple version is usually best.

About this recipe

The French treat green asparagus differently than white asparagus. White asparagus (asperges blanches) gets the full ceremonial treatment, steamed and served with hollandaise or mousseline sauce.

Green asparagus is more casual. Roasting became popular in France in the last few decades as green asparagus varieties became more common. Before that, steaming was standard.

This preparation is dead simple because French cooking often is, when you’ve got seasonal produce at its peak, you don’t need to faff about with complicated techniques.

The whole garlic cloves are a French touch. They roast alongside the asparagus, becoming sweet and sticky without burning. Squeeze them out and eat them with the asparagus, or mash them into the olive oil for extra flavour.

Asparagus season runs May to June. When it’s on, buy it!