Roasted Asparagus with Smoky Lemon Yogurt, Chopped Eggs, and Toasted Almonds
The yogurt dressing below will make more than you need, but if youre anything like us, youll want to make this again soon and will be glad you have it around. If you have a hot smoked paprika around, I am sure it would make a wonderful, kicky substitution for half the paprika. Chipotle powder, which is also smoky and hot, can impart a similar flavor. If you dont have smoked paprika around, regular paprika with a pinch of ground cumin will add some smoky depth as well. Sumac powder, with an almost tart or sour paprika flavor, would be delicious in here as well. The longer the yogurt dressing rests, the more garlicky it will become.
The yogurt dressing below will make more than you need, but if youre anything like us, youll want to make this again soon and will be glad you have it around. If you have a hot smoked paprika around, I am sure it would make a wonderful, kicky substitution for half the paprika. Chipotle powder, which is also smoky and hot, can impart a similar flavor. If you dont have smoked paprika around, regular paprika with a pinch of ground cumin will add some smoky depth as well. Sumac powder, with an almost tart or sour paprika flavor, would be delicious in here as well. The longer the yogurt dressing rests, the more garlicky it will become.
- Carbohydrate 19.8712814798615 g
- Cholesterol 212.30625 mg
- Fat 28.139313297 g
- Fiber 9.16292078962766 g
- Protein 20.754069945082 g
- Saturated Fat 3.6833031615 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (344g)
- Sodium 380.570198700216 mg
- Sugar 10.7083606902338 g
- Trans Fat 2.0064630555 g
- Calories 387 calories
Step-by-step
- Hard-boil your eggs according to your favorite method. I like to put my eggs cold in a pot of water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, I set the timer for 10 minutes and reduce the heat to a moderate simmer. When the timer goes off, I drain them and plunge them in ice water for a quick cooling. While they cool, toast your almonds. [If you have time, cook the eggs 24 hours or more in advance. Older hard-boiled eggs peel more cleanly.]
- In a 12-inch heavy skillet, toast your almonds over medium heat, tossing them frequently until they’re lightly bronzed. [Marcona almonds often come already toasted and in a bit of olive oil. If you’re happy with their color, use them as is. If not, you can put the almonds and oil in the skillet to toast them more deeply, as I did.] Let cool.
- Once eggs and almonds are cool, coarsely chop both and set aside.
- Make your yogurt dressing, whisking all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste. Spread 1/2 cup dressing in a thin layer over serving dish and set aside.
- Reheat heavy 12-inch skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, and once the oil is fully heated, add your trimmed asparagus spears — placing half in one direction and half in the other allows them to fit better. They won’t fit flat in a single layer, but you should try to spread them as evenly as possible. Cover the skillet with a lid (foil if you don’t have one that fits) and let skinny spears cook for 3 minutes and fatter ones for 5. Remove the lid, increase the heat to high, season the asparagus with salt and black pepper, and use tongs to cook the spears until they’re crisp-tender and well-browned along a side or two, about 5 minutes more for skinny spears or 7 minutes for thicker ones.
- Transfer asparagus to dressing-coated serving dish. Sprinkle spears with an additional squeeze of lemon juice, if desired, a tiny drizzle of olive oil, chopped almonds, eggs and a bit of coarse sea salt. Dollop with additional yogurt dressing. Then dig in.
Garlic drives the smoky yogurt dressing, pulling raw intensity from a single clove that intensifies steadily as the mixture sits. Grating the garlic on a microplane rather than mincing it with a knife ruptures the cell walls completely, releasing maximal allicin so the small quantity pervades the dairy without leaving hard chunks in the sauce. Because raw garlic mellows into a sharper pungency when held in cold dairy, letting this base rest for at least twenty minutes before assembly alters the final flavor profile significantly.
Stovetop roasting requires a heavy 12-inch skillet to maintain stable thermal mass when cold vegetables hit the hot surface. Crowding a pan with a full pound of asparagus means the spears overlap, which initially traps steam beneath a lid to jumpstart internal cooking before the cover comes off for high-heat browning. Thinner spears need about three minutes covered followed by five minutes uncovered, while thicker stalks demand five minutes of steam followed by seven minutes of direct heat until distinct charred spots form.
Boiling eggs twenty-four hours in advance solves the persistent peeling friction common to ultra-fresh farm eggs because internal moisture slowly evaporates through the porous shell over time. Plunging those boiled eggs into an ice bath immediately halts the cooking process to prevent a sulfurous grey ring from forming around the yolk. Coarsely chopping them right before plating preserves clean structural edges that contrast against the soft yogurt base.
Marcona almonds bring a distinct buttery crunch that reacts well to a quick reinforcement in the skillet with a drop of oil if extra browning is desired. Whole blanched varieties can also substitute if Marconas are unavailable, though raw nuts require careful attention over medium heat to prevent burning the natural oils.
