As much as I love the pure, clean flavor and tender texture of boiled asparagus, occasionally I get a craving for asparagus prepared some other way. Asparagus is great tempura-fried or sautéed or thinly shaved raw or even grilled. It’s also delicious oven- roasted.
There is in fact no vegetable that doesn’t benefit from oven-roasting, which is a commonly used restaurant technique and also a great way to a cook a large amount of any vegetable without having to stand over the stove every second.
You simply toss the vegetable in olive oil, salt and pepper, spread it out on a baking sheet or roasting pan in a single layer, and oven-roast it over medium high heat until it is lightly caramelized and slightly tender.
The blood orange sauce is a tangy, low-fat dressing made with reduced blood orange juice (an Italian product, available at Whole Foods), honey and a sage-infused oil. The combination of the asparagus with blood orange, sage, olives and bread crumbs is delicious and very Italian.
Note: Asparagus demands a lot of seasoning. You may want to add a little coarse sea salt when you dress the salad.
