Grilled Asparagus and Tomatoes

Here is a simple easy way to prepare asparagus. I always hated asparagus growing up because it was always woody tasting and it tasted and had a texture like bamboo. Who wants to eat what tastes like a tree? Surely not me or my sisters either.

I recently discovered that asparagus can be so yummy when prepared right and getting the right stalks. Having learned that the skinny stalks are more tender and are better to cook, I have started to really like asparagus.

The Cooking Dad wanted to grill some asparagus the other night and so we went to the produce stand (Jay's Produce stand on Mud Bay Road in Olympia to be exact, and the location for those who read this that are in and around Thurston County WA)and bought asparagus for 99 cents/lb. What was really nice is that I got to pick my own stalks since they had them in bulk rather than buying pre-portioned asparagus. So, I chose the smallest skinniest stalks I could find. It was no small feat pawing my way through oodles of asparagus and impatient people saying to me "are you done yet??" to which I replied.. "nope give me a few minutes" So the asparagus was bought and home it came where The Cooking Dad was going to grill it.

Before we grilled it, we marinated it... so to speak. In a plastic bag, we added about 3 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp coarse salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 clove garlic (sliced), 2 roma tomatoes (quartered), and about 2 tsp lemon juice. We let it sit in the fridge for about 2 hours. We used a foil pan with holes in the bottom and sprayed it with cooking spray, and then after our meat was done; we added the asparagus and cooked for about 6 minutes turning once with the lid down on the grill. It was soooo yummy!!


The stalks were very tender, crispy, and just plain good. My faith in asparagus has been restored. It is also great pickled and I am going back soon to get a bunch to pickle and some to blanch and freeze so we always have some asparagus on hand. What used to be a mystery vegetable to me, turned out to be a pleasant surprise and we will be fixing it more often. Now, just gotta find different ways to prepare it... research is the fun part!