Honey-Lemon Roasted Asparagus with Feta & Almond (veg)
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Tangy delicious honey-lemon asparagus with feta and almond
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • For the Roasted Asparagus
  • About 1 pound (450 g) asparagus, washed and trimmed (the woodsy bottoms removed)
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 3 oz (85 g) crumbled feta cheese
  • ¼ cup (30 g) chopped roasted almond
  • For the Honey-Lemon Dressing
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1+1/2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 round tsp Herbes de Provence
  • 1 tsp salt
  • a few cracks of pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 425F.
  2. In a container with fitted lid, combine: olive oil, lemon juice, half of the lemon zest (reserving other half), garlic, honey, herbs, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine (making sure the honey is integrated and not sticking to the bottom) and transfer into a dish large enough to accommodate asparagus stalks. Add the asparagus to the dish and intermingle with the dressing allowing the stalks to marinate in the flavors for 10-15 minutes (or overnight in fridge if you like).
  3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and add lemon wedges along edges on either side. Spread marinated asparagus over top (they will be cozy which is fine) and invert all of the juices, herbs and bits.
  4. Top the asparagus with crumbled feta and then top the feta with remaining lemon zest and a few cracks of pepper (you could also add red pepper flakes if that's something you enjoy).
  5. Roast for about 10 minutes until the asparagus develops a nice deep green color and then switch oven to broil for about 2 minutes watching carefully to add pops of color to the feta (it won't really brown).
  6. Remove from oven, sprinkle with almonds and serve in the pan with tongs (for casual barbecue style) or transfer in segments with a large spatula to a serving plate or individual dishes as preferred, making sure to scoop up some of those delicious juices with every serving!
Notes
Nuts: you can use any variety of nut you like here (preferably leaving your family members out of it) or skip the nuts all together. Other choices that would work well: pine nuts and pistachio. You could also add some chewy, thin-sliced dried apricot or dried cherries - both would be delicious.
Feta: I don't overdo it on the feta - just enough to add interest to the dish without overwhelming - if you prefer, you can use a different crumbly cheese - a mild goat cheese would also be nice here. I would stay away from overly fragrant/strong cheeses for this dish - you really want the honey-lemon dressing to be the star.
Herbes de Provence: I use the one made by Organics which includes lavender. It's a fragrant bouquet of herbs that works beautifully here and I strongly recommend it in this recipe (you don't want to skip it!)
Recipe by Inspired Edibles at https://www.inspirededibles.ca/2019/04/honey-lemon-roasted-asparagus-with-feta.html