The irony of this particular recipe choice is that my husband and I both dislike asparagus, but there came a time a week or two ago when I made my declaration: “No more salad and no more broccoli, and if that means no more veggies with our dinner, so be it!” You see, I need variety, and the salad/broccoli rotation could only last so long in our house. When I saw these gorgeous asparagus spears at the local farmer’s market, I decided that we would learn to like them. My husband’s raised eyebrows when he saw my veggie choice did not inspire any confidence in me, but I seduced him with offers to let him BBQ our new green veggie if he just promised to taste one or two.

I don’t know if I would say we’re asparagus fanatics at this point, but we’ve consumed over 3 pounds of these long green stalks in the past week so at the least we’ve found a way to make them tasty for even non-asparagus eaters! Of course, if you add enough garlic, salt, and balsamic vinegar to just about anything it will taste good.

The trick to grilling asparagus is to keep the tender tips off the direct heat or else all you’ll end up with is cute little lumps of ash.

I hear you’re supposed to cut ends off your asparagus before cooking them. Ours was picked and eaten so fresh that I did not bother.

To round out my meal, I served this asparagus with mashed potatoes and angry chicken (recipe coming soon!).

grilled asparagus

1.5 lb asparagus
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt (plus extra for serving)
8 grinds of black pepper from a pepper mill (or 1/4 tsp black pepper)
Preheat your grill.

In a 9×13 baking dish spread out your asparagus.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and then pour over the asparagus and stir well.

Place the asparagus on the grill such that the tips are pointed away from direct heat. After a few minutes, turn the spears to ensure that they cook evenly.

The asparagus is done when the thickest part of the stalk is easily pierced with a knife. I suggest removing one and testing it before removing all of them. And then test another. And then another. There is a limit to how much you’ll get away with this before someone notices that your pile of asparagus has shrunk considerably, but it’s always fun to feel like you’ve gotten away with something.

Note that the sugars in the balsamic vinegar can burn quickly, so keep an eye on the asparagus to ensure it doesn’t burn.

Serve hot sprinkled with sea salt.