Asparagus with Lemon, MInt, and Red Peppers

We had a 2 pound tri-tip roast and a few baby potatoes sitting around the house last week. The potatoes were leftover from a bag of potatoes I had for Christmas morning breakfast.  The tri-tip... well, it's a long story involving miscommunication and grocery store cell phone conversations. But serendipity strikes!

My daughter was going to have dinner with us, so I asked her to suggest a vegetable, and she requested asparagus. Asparagus! I hadn't made it in quite a while. Perfect.

These asparagus are blanched and then grilled in a grill pan in a mixture of lemon, mint, crushed red peppers, and a bit of oil. I could eat them with my fingers like French fries.

While this is a wonderful side dish. It would also make a wonderful chilled appetizer.

I rubbed the tri-tip with spices and herbs, and blasted it in a hot oven. I cut the potatoes up and roasted them with olive oil, salt, garlic, onion, shallots, and herbs. And this is how we prepared the asparagus:

Asparagus with Lemon, MInt, and Red Peppers

Ingredients

1 bunch (about 12 ounces) thin asparagus

1/2 tsp salt

Zest of one lemon

Juice of one lemon

1 small handful of mint leaves, minced

1/2 tsp crushed red peppers

1 T vegetable oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Extra lemon slices

Instructions

1. Prepare a large bowl with ice water.
2. Mix the lemon zest, lemon juice, mint, and crushed red pepper in a small bowl.
3. In a large saucepan or saute pan, bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the asparagus. Cook for two minutes. Remove the asparagus to the ice water and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels to dry. 
4. Heat a grill pan on high heat and brush with oil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the asparagus. 
5. Sprinkle half of the lemon/mint mixture over the asparagus and cook for two minutes.
6. Turn the asparagus over and add the rest of the lemon/mint mixture. Cook for another two minutes. 
7. Remove the asparagus from the pan and sprinkle with black pepper. 
8. Garnish with lemon slices. 

Recipe adapted from the completely gorgeous cookbook, What Katie Ate. You will be inspired.