Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic (Brown Butter) Sauce

After making last week's Chicken and Asparagus Pasta (yum!), I still had some asparagus left over.  I needed a side dish to go with the salmon, and since it was already breaded, I wanted something lighter than rice or potatoes.

I only made a few changes to the recipe.  First of all, I definitely downsized to about half since I didn't have that many asparagus spears left.  I also changed the butter to olive oil as I'm just not a huge fan of butter on vegetables, and I'd already cooked vegetables in butter once in the past week.  So, technically, I can't say I made asparagus in brown butter sauce, but other than that, I like the idea of roasting vegetables when the grill isn't an option.

Recipe: (from Sweet Peas and Pumpkins)
40 asparagus spears (about 2 pounds), washed and trimmed
Cooking spray

(For this, and the fish, my Misto with olive oil was an essential tool!)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 T butter (used olive oil instead)
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet; coat with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until tender.  Meanwhile, melt the butter (or warm the olive oil) in a small skillet over medium heat.  Cook for three minutes or until butter (if using) is lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally.  Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.  Drizzle over asparagus, tossing well to coat.  Serve immediately. 

Verdict:
Like it!  First of all, so simple to do that it can be added in minutes to just about any meal.  Both Alex and I enjoyed asparagus cooked this way - almost as good as grilled asparagus in the summer.  If cutting down on the amount of asparagus cooking, be careful to also watch the cooking time.  These did not need to cook the full 12 minutes.  They were tender but not mushy with just a little bit of crispness.  It was the perfect compromise as I like my vegetables crisp and Alex likes them just short of mushy...  Will definitely be making asparagus this way again when it's too cold outside to grill.

In other news, my mom is here for two days of Christmas baking, so I will soon have lots of recipes of goodies to post!  Some tried and true favorites as well as a few new recipes we're trying out....