Asparagus Fries: Crunchy Deliciousness

We are in the midst of one of my absolute favourite times of the year: Asparagus season.  Fresh Ontario asparagus. (I also love strawberry season, green bean season, corn season, peach season, tomato season...you get the idea.) We fill up on it for the few fleeting weeks that it lasts here. Forget that shipped in, way past its prime, tough, woody, flavourless stuff from various other countries that we have to eat the rest of the year. Go for the real deal and get the good, locally grown stuff.

My usual fallback cooking method is baking it in the oven with some brushed on olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and then topping it with some grated fresh parmesan cheese. Delicious of course. But sometimes it's rather nice to branch out and try something new. And voila! Here it is: a very quick and easy new way to prepare my favourite springtime vegetable. And it's kinda like fries as the name implies but much better for you.  Although who doesn't love some good old greasy and salty McDonald's fries every so often?! I admit that I do indulge on occasion. I'm only human. Now I have a craving for McDonald's fries. Crap.

Back to the asparagus. My new sous chef, James, had the genius idea to barbeque them on our wee little charcoal grill (on sale for $15 at Crappy Tire- such a bargain, we are so pleased with ourselves. Like abnormally so.) It's pretty tiny but it certainly does the trick. After dipping and rolling the asparagus into the panko mixture, we lined them up in a little foil tent (camping trip for asapargus) and placed them on the grill for about 10 minutes or so (time depends on how hot you can get that little sucker.) End result: grilled golden crunchy asparagus goodness. Love the flavour you can get from the charcoal... you just can't replicate that in the oven. A promotion for the new sous chef may be in order.  We'll see.

Cheers!

Asparagus Fries
from Chatelaine magazine May 2015

2 eggs
1/2 cup panko
1/4 cup parmesan, finely grated
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
salt and pepper

Beat 2 eggs in a bowl. Stir panko and parmesan together in another container. Season with salt and pepper. Dip asparagus into eggs and then into panko mixture. Press to coat. Arrange asparagus onto a foil-lined baking sheet, in a single layer. Bake at 425 F in centre of oven, until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

OR

Place the dipped and rolled asparagus into a foil tent and place on grill for 10-15 minutes, depending on the heat of your grill.