Asparagus With Hazelnut Gremolata

Submitted by misscrys79

"The first time I made this was when my parents came over to my house for dinner. I was making a hazelnut crusted mahi mahi for dinner and needed the perfect side dish to go with it. Well, I had asparagus and hazelnuts, so I decided to throw this together and am I glad that I did! It has quickly become one of our favorite ways to eat asparagus. The recipe came from my Mayo Clinic Cookbook."

 

• Ready In: 17mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 lb asparagus, tough ends removed, then peeled if skin is thick
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, plus sprigs for garnish
• 1⁄4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus extra for garnish
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt

directions

1. In a large pot fitted with a steamer basket, bring about 1 inch water to a boil. Add the asparagus, cover, and steam until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove from the pot.
2. In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, garlic, chopped parsley, hazelnuts, 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
3. Toss well to mix and coat.
4. Arrange the asparagus neatly on a serving platter and garnish with parsley sprigs and lemon zest.
5. Serve immediately.

Reviews

[AmandaInOz]

Great asparagus dish! The lemon really lifts this nicely, and the hazelnuts add a fantastic crunchy texture. I substituted hazelnut oil for the olive oil, which I highly recommend. Yum! Thanks misscrys79! Made for PAC Fall 2008.

 

[FLKeysJen]

Lemony delicious! We grilled the asparagus instead of steaming it. I made the "sauce" in advance and I was glad I did - because while it sat 30 minutes or so, the flavor of the hazelnuts permeated into it. Usually I put olive oil and salt on before grilling. By adding the sauce afterwards, I used much less oil and still got lots of flavor with fewer fat grams. Thanks!