grilled asparagus with cumin

Two asparagus are walking down the road when one is hit by a car. The other goes in the ambulance with his friend, sits in the emergency room, waits for some news. A doctor comes to him. "I have good news and bad news. The good news - he'll make a full recovery.

The bad news - he'll be a vegetable for life."

grilled asparagus with cumin

1 large bunch of Asparagus
1/4 Tsp Crush Red Pepper Flakes and/or Cayenne pepper
1/4 Tsp (smoked is nice) Paprika
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
3 Tbsp Olive oil

Get your grill going. I like grilling over lump wood charcoal for this. It burns hot and fast. The down side, it burns hot and fast. You are going to want to plan your session out ahead of time.

Thoroughly rinse the asparagus in cold water. Take the asparagus, three or four spears at a time, and snap off the bottoms. Fresh asparagus knows where it should be trimmed. Let it tell you. It wants you to be happy. If it bends and does not snap, toss it and think about making something else.

Once the asparagus is trimmed, place into a large zip top bag. Add the olive oil and cumin and friends to the mix. Close the top and give it a good shake to coat. You could throw it on the grill now, or you could give it a little bit. Letting it relax in your icebox for 15 min will give it a chance for everything to mingle and get to know each other. That’s a good thing.

Once everything else that is going to go on the plate is finishing up, align your new comers up perpendicular to the grate. Grill for about 5 or 6 min moving regularly. These little guys will go from a nice al dente snap to mushy mush without telling you. So pay attention to them. I like spring-loaded tongs for this. Now, you are bound to lose one. That is just how it is. Don’t worry. Look how many more you have. It will be all right.

How do you know when they are done? Well, pull one right off the grill and taste it. Go ahead, its okay. When you are standing around the grill, maybe a beer in hand, just about anything can be a finger food. Just be careful you don’t burn yourself. Taste good? Well then, you better pull them off and enjoy!

The taste of the sear on the asparagus and the heat from the pepper and cumin compliment anything else that might be accompanying these guys on their grilling journey perfectly.