Asparagus with Balsamic Dressing

This is a leap year on the Jewish calendar as well, so Easter is a full month before Passover.  All of the holidays will be "late", pushing Rosh Hashanah into October.  I also get to enjoy all the Easter sales without checking to see if the foods are KLP.  Mmm, mini Robin's Eggs.  I love malt candy.

What this means is that asparagus is at its best price of the year right now.  I had my heart set on it when I got to the store, and was slightly disappointed when the only kind they had was the very thin spears.  The older an asparagus crown, the thicker the spear.  Well, at least I didn't have to peel them.

This is a simple recipe of making a basic balsamic dressing, tossing the raw spears in it, and roasting until done.  With the thin ones, it was only 5 minutes before they turned a vibrant green, under the dressing's wine color.

1 lb asparagus
2 Tb balsamic vinegar
2 Tb olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
*1/4 tsp granulated garlic
*1/4 tsp crushed dried rosemary

1.  Preheat oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.  It will make cleanup easier.

2.  To prepare the asparagus, gently bend the bottom half of the spear.  Wherever it snaps is the natural point where you should discard the tough base.  Repeat for all of it and place the tops in a bowl.

3.  Whisk together vinegar, oil, salt, and rosemary.  Pour over asparagus and toss to coat.

4.  Arrange spears on prepared baking sheet.  Pour any remaining dressing over them.  Roast for 5-15 minutes, depending on diameter of spears.  They're done when the color is bright and the skins are just barely beginning to wrinkle.

5.  Serve hot, or chilled as an accent for salads.

Difficulty rating  π