Servings: 4
Calories: 144kcal
Equipment
- oven tray
Ingredients
- 500 g asparagus approximately 20 spears
- 400 g baby Roma tomatoes or baby cherry tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
- 20 ml balsamic glaze
- salt and pepper to season
- 1 tsp olive oil to dress salad
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C and line an oven tray with baking paper.
- Trim the asparagus by snapping off the woody ends at the base. Wash and dry the asparagus and tomatoes (see notes/tips for asparagus). Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a bowl with half of the olive oil. Massage in well so all tomatoes are covered. Set aside.Place the asparagus onto the oven tray. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil and toss well to coat. Spread the asparagus out in a single layer on one side of the tray. Place the tomato halves onto the other side of the tray and spread them out evenly.Season all the vegetables with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle over the parmesan cheese (save a couple of tablespoons for garnishing later). Place the tray onto the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until asparagus is cooked through and slightly coloured on the tips. The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your asparagus.Remove tray from the oven and carefully lay the asparagus onto a serving plate or platter in a row. Place the tomatoes down the middle of the asparagus spears. Drizzle the balsamic glaze all over the tomatoes and around the asparagus (use 15-20ml depending on your sweetness levels). Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the top, then drizzle with a little extra olive oil to finish.Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers are also delicious the following day. Enjoy!
Notes
This is such an easy recipe that I hope you will make again and again. Here are a few little tips to help you along the way.
To prepare the asparagus: Often the tips of the asparagus can hold small amounts of gritty dirt (from when they are grown and pop out of the soil), so while I rinse the stalks, I also like to fill a bowl or jug with about 5cm of water and dunk the tips into the water and give them a few gentle shakes. This dislodges any gritty bits if they are in there.
Another tip is when you are roasting the asparagus and tomatoes, make sure they are dry and that you spread them out evenly on the oven tray and not crowd them too much. This will help them roast and allow the asparagus to colour up a bit. For this recipe, they will all fit on a single tray but if you want to double the recipe, use 2 trays.
Lastly, as there are very few ingredients used in this dish, please use good quality ones. Buy a parmesan cheese block (I use Parmigiano Reggiano) and grate it yourself as often the packaged pre-grated parmesan has added thickeners.
If you'd like to double this recipe to feed more people, I suggest using 2 oven trays - one for the asparagus and the other for the tomatoes.
Nutrition
Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 232mg | Potassium: 494mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1542IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 152mg | Iron: 3mg
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