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roasted asparagus with fresh tomato salsa

Here’s the unofficial title of this post: I love out of season tomatoes!

I’m tired of talking about seasonal produce.

Some days, I want to eat a tomato in March April and just not care.

I can see I’ve shocked you just a little.

I won’t go so far as to say I’ll dive into a Beefsteak tomato this time of year, but I will purchase a pint of grape tomatoes and add them to my salad or in this case, a quick salsa.

I don’t want to feel the least little bit guilty about it.

That’s what motherhood is for.

There’s certain buzz words/phrases out there and “seasonal eating” is one of them.  I know that the really good tomatoes won’t come into their prime until around July/August (in our area), but I can’t just cross them off my grocery list.

And, now that fiddlehead fern and ramp season is upon us, I’m feeling that seasonal produce pressure even more.

 

Wild leeks and the baby tips of ferns just about to unfurl aren’t on my list, though they probably should be.  I want to fit in with the cool foodies out there, but I have children to feed who aren’t the least little bit interested in baby fern tips.

I asked and they said “no.”

There is a slightly higher chance that they’ll go for asparagus though.  And, the likelihood grows exponentially (like a fern tip about to unfurl) if it’s been roasted and cheese is involved.

So for them, they’ll get the Parmesan cheese version of this roasted asparagus, but for me I’ll take the simple lemony salsa.

And, I’ll be loving every bite of my out-of-season tomatoes.asparagus

Roasting asparagus as in all vegetables is a very simple process.  Tossing then with olive oil and a seasoning with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper before they go into your preheated oven is about as easy as is it gets.

roasted asparagus

Here they are on a baking sheet before I put them into the oven which was preheated to 400 degrees.  Roast them for about 20-25 minutes.roasted asparagus with fresh tomato salsa

And, here is the roasted asparagus topped with a simple salsa of tomatoes, lemon juice, lemon zest, minced garlic and Italian parsley.  Delicious and it makes a very nice side dish.

Roasted Asparagus with Fresh Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

1 lb asparagus, trimmed

olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups small tomatoes, such as grape or cherry, cut in half

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp flat leaf parsley (Italian), chopped

zest and juice of 1 small lemon

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.  Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes.  Toss the tomatoes, garlic cloves, parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Season with salt and black pepper to taste.  Serve atop the roasted asparagus.

Serves: 4

Allison {Main St. Cuisine}