Lemon Asparagus Casserole

Submitted by AshK5246

"I love fresh asparagus, so I wanted to post some of our family's favorites. This is a great spring dish and is perfect for brunch or dinner! You can substitute a good quality Italian bread crumb mixture for the topping (still mixed with the canned fried onions)."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• Topping

• 2 slices hearty white bread
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1⁄8 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1⁄2 cups canned fried onions, crushed

• Asparagus

• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 lbs asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small red onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• pepper

directions

1. For the topping:

2. Pulse bread, garlic, oil and parsley in food processor until coarsely ground.
3. Combine with crushed fried onions.

4. For the asparagus:

5. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°.
6. Fill large bowl with ice water.
7. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in dutch oven over medium-high heat.
8. Add 2 tbsp salt and asparagus and cook until just tender, about 6 minutes.
9. Transfer asparagus to ice water, cool and drain on paper towels.
10. Melt butter in the empty dutch oven over med-high heat.
11. Cook onion until golden brown (5 minutes).
12. Add garlic, zest and flour and cook until fragrant (1 minute).
13. Whisk in broth and cream and simmer over medium heat until thickened (10 minutes).
14. Toss asparagus in sauce and season with salt and pepper.
15. Transfer mixture to a 13x9-inch baking dish.
16. Top with crumb mixture and bake until golden brown (15 minutes).
17. Serve and enjoy.

Reviews

[Brooke the Cook in]

This made a light dinner for us last night. I halved the recipe and used an 8x8 baking dish without trouble. I doubled the amount of lemon zest but still didn't notice a prominent lemon flavor. I also subbed out the heavy cream for milk and added a little corn starch to thicken the sauce. The topping was very yummy!