Pan Roasted Asparagus with Queso Fresco

Happy Friday! Hope you are all looking forward to the weekend; I know I am.

There will be salsa dancing, cooking, practicing calligraphy, seeing a few friends, and trying to motivate myself to exercise.

But first, I want to share with you a recipe I made last week that was inspired by a recipe that Isabelle pinned for Roasted Cumin-Lime Carrots.

Instead of carrots, I used asparagus. Since the asparagus was thin and tender, I decided to pan-roast it instead of heating up my oven. I also left out ground coriander, because I did not happen to have it on hand, and used queso fresco cheese and cilantro rather than mint and green onions.

This side dish comes together incredibly quickly and is as good right out of the pan as it is eaten cold, straight from the refrigerator.

I hope you add this recipe to your repertoire of green side dishes.

Pan Roasted Asparagus with Queso Fresco adapted from Family Style Food

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound asparagus, thick ends trimmed
juice and zest of 1 lime
1 teaspoon honey
salt & pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/4 cup grated queso fresco {if you can't find queso fresco, use feta}

Directions
1. Heat oil in a pan, add the asparagus and saute for five minutes.

2. Add all the other ingredients except cilantro and queso fresco and saute for another five minutes until the asparagus has softened and the spices, lime juice and honey have formed a lovely brown glaze.

3. Remove asparagus from the pan onto a large platter and top with cilantro and queso fresco.




The cheese  will start to melt as soon as it touches the hot asparagus and will add a bit of saltiness to this spicy and sweet dish. The flavors are incredible. You can try the same formula with zucchini, broccoli, or obviously with carrots, as the original recipe intended.

What's YOUR favorite way to cook asparagus?