Grilled Asparagus With Caper Salsa
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 6
- 3bunches asparagus, approximately 1 pound, woody ends trimmed and discarded
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- ¼cup capers, ideally small, drained, rinsed and patted dry
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2teaspoons lemon juice
- 1small garlic clove, peeled, crushed and minced
- ⅓cup parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- ½cup crumbled caprino fresco cheese, or another soft goat cheese like chèvre
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
111 calories; 8 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 368 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Fill a medium-size pot with cold water, and place it over high heat. When the water boils, add the asparagus, and blanch for 1 minute. Drain the asparagus, and rinse it immediately under cold water. Drain the asparagus again and place in a medium bowl, with 1 tablespoon of the oil, a pinch of salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Mix gently, and set aside.
- Step 2
Light a charcoal or gas grill, or place a grill pan on the stove over high heat. Once it is hot, add the asparagus in batches, and grill for approximately 2 to 3 minutes, turning a few times, until the spears are lightly charred. Transfer to a large platter with all the tips facing in one direction.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, make the salsa. Mix together the capers with the remaining tablespoon of oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic and parsley. Add the goat cheese to the mixture, stir gently and spoon over the asparagus.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Agnieszka
made exactly as written,used soft goat cheese and Mayer lemons, it was a hit at the potluck party, blanching preserves the green of the asparagus and shortens the grilling time considerably
Nina
I always grill asparagus directly, with just a drizzling of oil. No blanching needed!
Alice
Yes, I made it with Feta and liked it better than the goat cheese and it crumbles better, also.
SUNDEVILPEG
It's better if you just roast it in the oven - 20 - 25 minutes at 375 should do it. Grilling burns the tips, and the blanching/grilling combo is just way too much trouble for questionable gain.
Sandy
Never mind blanching. Put 1 lb asparagus spears in container [no water needed], cover tightly, and microwave for 4 minutes. Asparagus stays green and crisp — and retains both its taste and all nutrients — for much less work. Then grill.
Wendy
I used the Classic Chevre from Vermont Butter and creamery. It was way too soft to crumble and made the salsa a mushy mess. Will use something a little dryer and crumbly next time. Might also try ricotta salata.
Es
A very nice addition to my asparagus repertoire. I parboiled the asparagus and made the salsa a few hours in advance. Dish was pretty (I think I too would use feta next time instead of a soft chevre) and the salsa, without the cheese, went well with the salmon I served with the asparagus.
jo
Great recipe! If you are avoiding dairy, a grated hardboiled egg substitutes nicely for the cheese.
Steve Hoge
To blanch or not to blanch? That is the question - which is best answered by another question: how thick are your asparagus? You can easily skip the pre-cooking with pencil-sized baby asparagus but those big ring-finger-sized stalks benefit from blanching or steaming thoroughly first before finishing on the fire.
Joe Grundy
If you're having a hard time finding Meyers, I'd suggest adding a 1/2 teaspoon of orange juice or honey to your lemon juice to tone down the tartness.
Pecator
Leftover salsa is great for omelets
Gretel
Try using Italian parsley next time.
Alice
Feta worked well for me and gave the salsa a bit more zip than goat cheese.
Conbot
Purists (I'm one) will say that the water that comes from your water heater has probably been through your water softener, which adds salt to it, and the water has been standing for a long time in the tank. So along with the crud from the pipes Susan mentions, the water is slightly salty and flat. Water from the cold tap is nicely aerated, contains no salt or other chemicals (we presume), and tastes fresh. Taste test your own water by leaving a glass of hot tap water in the fridge.
SG
This has become our go-to for dinner with friends. The blanching does the trick and we use goat cheese for the extra bite. Never one asparagus spear left!
Ashley
Made it exactly like the recipe and even my high school culinary arts students loved it. If that’s possible, anything is!
Cheesewinepasta
Yum yum yum. Replaced parsley with basil and 🤩
Sinéad
Used mint and goat feta because that's what I had. Added some sprigs of watercress on top- delicious.
Linda
Fresh asparagus comes in bunches that are too large for one person to eat before they go bad. So I use frozen whenever I can. Since frozen asparagus is simply blanched asparagus, I plan to thaw and dry the amount of frozen asparagus I want. Looking forward to trying this recipe.
Ilga
Peeled bottom of medium thickness asparagus, then blanched. Did not want to start up the bbq just for this so put asparagus in the air fryer/toaster oven for 5 min on air broil. Still learning to use the equipment. Did not want to risk over cooking. Came out perfect amount of cooked -- still had crunch. Used feta because I don't like goat cheese. It was delicious.
Denise
I needed a new recipe for asparagus and this was it! I didn't grill them as it was raining, instead I roasted in the oven. It was fantastic!
EKSanfilippo
Used asparagus and rapini, didn’t blanche, was excellent!
john
I’ve been growing asparagus for about 40 years. I use a peeler on the ends rather than throwing them out. They taste great and are very tender. The season is so short that I want every bit I can get.
mjjsnell
My wife hates goat cheese, so I used ricotta. Somewhat gummy texture, which I addressed by using more lemon juice to create a creamy sauce. Delicious.
pwtesuji
Be sure to get large caliber asparagus; the thin ones are a pain to grill.
Dana
Has anyone made the salsa a day ahead (maybe minus the goat cheese) and blanche the asparagus a few hours earlier? Then grill the asparagus and add goat cheese for serving? Also I have a buffalo cheese which hopefully will be fine!
CRB
The asparagus this season has been fantastic so we are eating it everyday. This recipe sounded like a nice change and it was, it will go in rotation. Used feta because it’s what I had and left out the garlic due to dietary restrictions. It was delicious.
Deirdre
We had the same problem and tried a dry crumbly goat cheese from the supermarket cheese dept on the second try and it worked better. Or try feta. It's better if you just roast it in the oven - 20 - 25 minutes at 375 should do it.
hobbychef
Date unknown. For us - very good and worth repeating.
Emily
In my opinion, the blanching step makes the char from the grill look nicer. Would recommend. Also, I crumbled cotija over the top instead of goat cheese, and it was delicious.
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