I love to get thin spears as well, and to toss them in extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. 10-15 min at 400 degrees (or grilled!) and they are so tasty. They cook down a lot, but the tops get so crispy… Yum! Now I want some asparagus…

I love prefer the thinner ones too. My go to method is blanching; boiled water, add asparagus, timed for two minutes, and placed under cold running water. No salt. No oil.

I love those thin asparagus as well. I usually use the same method as Betty (blanching).
You know what ? You should really try to make your mayonnaise : it’s easy and it tastes soooo much better than store-bought mayo. And if you keep your egg white (you just need the egg yolk in a traditional mayonnaise), you can beat it with a pinch of salt and add it to your mayo to make a mousseline, it’s the best with asparagus !

LOOOOOVE your blog, by the way !

I love making asparagus as an appetizer. Wrap it with prosciutto, drizzle a little EVOO on it, sprinkle it with some fresh parmesan and bake it for about 15 minutes. Mmhmm, yum!

I always ate asparagus with mayo growing up, but never thought about adding lemon (or sesame oil). I’ll definitely have to try this!

My boys love asparagus! I roast it in the oven with a little EVOO and sea salt – delicious!

I add lemon juice and some crushed garlic to a good commercial mayo for quick and easy aioli to serve with either roasted or steamed asparagus. I usually steam the thinner spears – but roasting is the only way to go with the thick ones.

Roasted asparagus is my fave: Toss asparagus with EVOO and garlic sea salt; roast, turning occasionally, until lightly browned and tender (about 20 minutes). Enjoy … delish!!

Here is a tip for you- to ensure you always have tender non-stringy asparagus place one hand about a third of the way from the top of the spear and the other hand at the bottom cut end. Fold the spear in half and the asparagus will snap at exactly the right spot to get rid of the tough end! You will have to get over the fact that you will be throwing some away, but you’ll thank me when every bit is deliciously tender. (Throw away the bottom end.) My grandmother would make cream of asparagus soup from the ends, but I never bother.

Mayo and lemon – yum! I usually just roast with olive oil and sea salt, then squeeze on some lemon. I almost bought asparagus the other day at the store, but it didn’t look so fresh. Hopefully soon! I’ve always wanted to try growing it in the garden, but I am not sure I have the right climate.

I eat asparagus almost everyday. My favorite way to make is is to chop it up throw it in a skillet with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Once it turns bright green I take it off the heat. Super crunchy and tasty.

We love asparagus roasted in the oven with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce.

FYI, there are several types of sesame oil. It looks like you might using cold-pressed. It’s not heated during processing, which makes a delicate flavor and has a mid smoke point. If you have a lighter oil that doesn’t say that it’s cold-pressed, that means it’s conventional oil that was heated during processing. This is just like the difference you get in grades of olive oils — the cold-pressed ones have a more delicate flavor but a lower smoke point.

If you have the kind of darker oil that comes in a smaller bottle, that’s toasted sesame oil — this is best used as a finishing oil to add flavor rather than as a cooking oil where the nuttier flavor gets lost in the cooking process. It’s more self-stable, so this is the kind I usually keep around to add at the end of stir fries or in an Asian vinaigrette.

Good to know! Thanks for sharing.

Great tip! (pun intended) Looks like I forgot to mention trimming off the bottom 1″ or so…off to add that!

Sounds yummy.

I’ve never tried making mayo from scratch. I may just have to give it a go! Thanks for the idea.

The tips are my FAVORITE.

Never tried asparagus with sesame oil, fantastic idea. I would personally skip the mayo, I love my asparagus “naked”.

Hey Dana,

I Haven’t commented for a long time, I am no fan of food related posts, but I really enjoyed the photographs, you are getting better and better. I know they are styled, but relatably styled. You know what I mean!! Love it. Rock On…

Aw, thanks. It’s strange but I really think that photographing food has made cooking more enjoyable to me…something I never thought I would say. This will never be a “food blog” but I do like sharing my favorite quick & easy recipes every once in a while. And I love it when readers comment with tips or tweaks.

Yum this looks so good. Guess I know at least one thing I am making for dinner tonight!

[…] Tweaking has a recipe for Sesame Asparagus with Lemon Mayo Drizzle that I can’t wait to […]

We LOVE asparagus in our house and 90% of the time I toss it in a little EVOO, salt and pepper and roast in a high oven for about 8 minutes. So yummy.

Thank you Dana. This was awesome and so simple. I paired the asparagus with a french omelet and it was to die for.

Sounds yummy!