Last Updated May 15th, 2018 at 05:05 pm by Lisa
Thanks again Melissa’s Produce for sponsoring this recipe with your fantastic fresh produce!
Grilled Asparagus with Gremolata Topping is a clean healthy vegetarian side dish recipe full of fresh bell pepper, basil, parsley, capers, lemon, and pine nuts. Yum!
Grilled asparagus with gremolata topping is a clean side dish packed with healthy ingredients and fresh tangy flavors. The asparagus is grilled lightly in a tiny amount of ghee in just minutes on a grill pan.
Gremolata is a flavor packed topping for veggies, pastas, meats, or can be made into a quick salad dressing. You can chop the ingredients on a board or mix in a high-speed blender.
This post is sponsored by Melissa’s Produce. All opinions are my own.
The good people at Melissa’s Produce were kind enough to send a box of beautiful farm box of veggies I used to create this recipe.
This gremolata recipe has buttery toasted pine nuts, tangy capers, sweet bell pepper, basil, lemon zest, and parsley together are light, fresh, and clean! In all honesty, I couldn’t stop eating the grilled asparagus with gremolata topping and skipped our main course for dinner!
This post is sponsored by Melissa’s Produce. All opinions are my own.
First Make the Gremolata:
What is Gremolata again?
The Italian pronunciation [ɡremoˈlaːta] or Italian pronunciation [ɡremoˈlaːda] is a chopped herb condiment classically made of lemon zest, garlic and parsley. It is a traditionally served with the Milanese braised veal shank dish ossobuco alla milanese.
Ingredients of Gremolata:
Gremolata usually includes grated lemon peel, although the zest from other citrus fruits lime, orange, grapefruit may be used. There are also other variations, such as leaving out the herbs or adding herbs like parsley, cilantro, mint, sage.
Other common gremolata flavor ingredients are garlic, grated fresh horseradish, minced shallot, Pecorino Romano cheese, anchovy, and toasted pine nuts. The best part is you can make this from ingredients you have on hand, and try different combinations!
Use Fresh Ingredients for Gremolata:
This gorgeous bell pepper is called an Enjoya Pepper from Melissa’s Produce. It came in a farm box I recently received from Melissa’s. If you can’t find this bell pepper, you can substitute red, green, or yellow pepper, and it will be amazing.
The Enjoya pepper has a rosy red striping over a canary yellow background. Enjoya peppers are pleasantly sweet, very crunchy, crisp and a bit juicy. You can use any bell pepper for this recipe, but I hope you find the Enjoya bell peppers in your market, because they are beautiful and so sweet!
Finely chop all ingredients on a cutting board and combine in a bowl or blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender. This mixture is your Gremolata topping. You can prepare the Gremolata ahead by an hour.
Next, Grill the Asparagus.
Two tips on perfect kitchen grilled asparagus:
- Use a grill pan
- Grill with ghee (or coconut oil)
Here is why:
Grill pans are: inexpensive, will last a lifetime, easy to use, quick to clean, and create a dish quickly.
Grill the asparagus for 3 minutes a side, 6 minutes total. I like the crisp fresh snap when you bite into the asparagus, and so you don’t want to cook these for too long. They stay nice and green this way too, so pretty don’t ya think?
Grill with Ghee: Ghee is clarified butter. It has a buttery nutty taste, doesn’t burn, and grills quickly keeping in the fresh nutrients. And the best part? You only use about 2 teaspoons for 2 bunches of asparagus!
Oh wait a minute, what is Ghee really? Oh I am so glad you asked! So ghee is clarified butter, meaning the milk solids have been removed. What this boils down to is you can use a small amount, and cook with it at high temperatures without burning because the milk solids are removed. Ghee has a super buttery taste, and a little goes a long way. Ghee also adds a depth of flavor to your grilled veggies.
- 1-2 bunches asparagus
- 2 teaspoons ghee or coconut oil
- leaves from one bunch flat-leaf parsley
- 1 bell pepper - Melissa's Produce Enjoya Bell Pepper
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or pistachios
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- zest of one lemon
- pinch of salt and black cracked pepper
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Finely chop all the ingredients on a board, combine, you can make the gremolata an hour ahead. Or
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Blend all the ingredients in a Cuisinart.
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Prepare the asparagus, by snapping off the bottom tough ends.
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Using a grill pan, add 1 teaspoon ghee in the hot grill pan.
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Grill the asparagus 3 minutes per side, 6 minutes total.
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Serve the grilled asparagus with the gremolata topping and lemon wedges.
all photography images and text © Lisa Torres | Delicious Table
Serve the grilled asparagus with the gremolata and lemon wedges.
This post is sponsored by Melissa’s Produce. All opinions are my own.
Try this easy and healthy dish, and enjoy each delightful bite!
All the Best,
Lisa
XO
Here are a couple more fun grill ideas…Grilled Corn ~ Mexican Chile Lime Elotes
Light up the grill and make fresh salsa! Fire Grilled Hatch Chile Tomatillo Salsa
I love it when instructions read something like “place all ingredients in a blender / food processor.” You are speaking my language Lisa! 🙂 This dish was so light and bright and had just the perfect combo of zing and freshness. I made it as is this time but definitely am excited that you can substitute those other ingredients to see what combinations you like best on different veggies or dishes. Mmmm! Thanks for those ideas!