Broiled Asparagus

Broiled asparagus is one of the quickest and easiest side dishes in the history of cooking. :D Broiling cooks the asparagus super quick, and leaves it slightly charred for maximum yumminess. Until recently I've only ever eaten asparagus raw (my grandmother grew it in her garden and it was THE BEST) because I feel it's cooked terribly the majority of the time. Broiling is the only way I like to cook it.

Thinner stalks cook in 6 minutes, thick stalks in 8-10 minutes. All you need is a bit of asparagus, some salt and pepper, olive oil and a baking sheet.

Here's how to go about it:

• turn the broiler on to high - if your broiler is in the top of the oven, place an oven rack in the highest rung.
• for easy clean up, put down a piece of aluminum foil on your baking sheet - I'm just using a baking sheet.
• trim off the bottom of the asparagus stalks - peel them if you like. I normally just cut about 1-2 inches off the bottom to get rid of the really woody bit.
• put the asparagus on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and be generous with the salt and pepper! (try my recipe for citrus salt to make it even better!) Mix it all together until the asparagus is nicely coated.
• Pop it under the broiler!
• I like to broil three minutes at a time, and then flip. Just keep an eye on it or set a timer - broiling is serious business.
• Broil and flip until they're slightly soft and the skin begins to brown and wrinkle.
• Eat!