Chargrilled Asparagus under Olive & Feta, Parmesan Crumbs
Gorgeous, vibrant, chargrilled asparagus with an olive, feta, rosemary & parmesan, panko breadcrumb topping
Ingredients
Breadcrumb Topping
- 3 tablespoons / 45 g butter
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup / 50 g crumbled feta
- ¼ cup / 30 grated parmesan
- 2 tablespoons sliced olives or 6 pitted ones sliced up
- 2 teaspoons rosemary leaves
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest ½ tiny lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Asparagus
- 36 asparagus spears 3 bunches here in NZ & all of equal thickness
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- pinch of salt & black cracked pepper
Garnish
- a few sprigs of rosemary & a few lemon wedges
Instructions
Breadcrumbs
- Roughly chop up the rosemary leaves.
- Zest and juice the lemon (½ tsp of zest & 1 tsp juice).
- Place the butter in a small saucepan and melt it over a low heat.
- Add the breadcrumbs and stir them into the butter.
- Turn the heat up to medium and stir it continuously until all of the breadcrumbs are a light golden brown (around 4 minutes).
- Place them into a small bowl and add the feta, parmesan, sliced olives, rosemary leaves, lemon zest, olive oil and the pepper.
- Mix it together well and set aside.
Asparagus
- Prepare the asparagus spears by washing them in cold water and then snapping off the stalk ends. (They should naturally snap off where the woody part meets the more tender part, approx 3-4 cm from the ends.)
- Place a chargrill pan (or BBQ) over a medium/high heat and whilst it's heating up lay the spears out on a board or plate and drizzle them with the tablespoon of olive oil.
- *If you are blanching them, there's no need to drizzle them with olive oil. Just fill a frying pan or large saucepan with enough water to cover the asparagus and place it over a high heat. When it's rapidly boiling add the asparagus and blanch it until it's just tender and still has a slight bite to it (approx 5 minutes).
- Lay the spears out on the very hot grill and grill them for around 3 minutes on each side or until a knife pierces them easily, tender but still have a bite to them. (If your spears are thin, they will take less time and thicker, a little longer.)
- Once tender, lay them out on a serving plate either in a single row or two high.
- Squeeze the lemon juice over them and also a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
- Turn your oven grill (broiler) to a medium heat so it heats up.
- Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the spears (leaving the asparagus ends and tips visible) and gently press the crumbs down so they are compact.
- Place the crumbed asparagus under the grill until it's a lovely golden brown.
- Garnish with a few sprigs of rosemary & a couple of lemon wedges.
- Cover well with cling wrap and keep chilled for up to 2 days. Reheats well in the microwave.