Blasted Roasted Asparagus

Every good magician knows how to amaze his or her audience by making objects disappear. If you want to create some magic at the dinner table with your children, I have a great way to make asparagus spears disappear quickly every time you serve them. Not only do they disappear, they never reappear. Steaming, sautéing, and grilling asparagus are common ways to prepare this wonderful green vegetable. However, my favorite way to serve asparagus is blasting them with high heat roasting them to perfection. I've discovered kids will gladly eat asparagus when roasted perfectly. In fact, if I roast almost any vegetables it is a big hit with my kids. 

The best way I prepare the asparagus before roasting is to take one spear from its bunch and bend the bottom half of the spear to see where it naturally breaks. Once it breaks I use the breaking point as my cutting guide for the rest of the bunch. I place the the spears in a zip top bag drizzling half a tablespoon of olive oil over them. I gently shake the bag several times to evenly distribute the oil. From there I will arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer and lightly season them with salt and pepper. 

Having the oven set on a higher-than-normal heat ensures the asparagus will cook quickly, and even blister in spots, which deepens the flavor and enhances the texture even more. Ten to twelve minutes later, the asparagus is removed from the oven and transferred to a serving plate. Magically the plate is cleaned and often I will get a request for an encore performance. Although a good magician never shares his secrets, I'm more than happy to share my secret with you. Enjoy!