Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Photo: flickr user jbcurio

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus

2 garlic cloves slivered

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons dry white wine

(or nonalcoholic white wine)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon olive oil

teaspoon salt

teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

Preparation

Break off the tough ends from the asparagus spears. With a vegetable peeler, peel the bottom half of the asparagus stalks.

Scatter the garlic in a 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer. In a small bowl, combine the water, wine, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. Pour over the asparagus.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn the asparagus over and roast for 8 to 10 minutes more, or until the asparagus are tender but slightly crisp and the liquid is almost gone.

This recipe yields 4 servings.

Comments: Here's a new way to cook fresh asparagus. The art of roasting produces a flavor that the asparagus lover will find hard to resist. If you use thin asparagus, shorten the cooking time, and if you use big, fat stalks, it might take a few minutes more. If you don't want to use the wine, use water in its place.