Oven-Roasted Asparagus & Tarragon Salad

Frenchify your oven-roasted asparagus by adding some anise flavoured tarragon and Dijon, the perfect side for an extraordinary mid-week dinner party that takes just minutes to prepare.

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Oven roasting your asparagus brings out its best, it forms a nice char and develops a beautiful smoky flavour, a perfect match for the aromatic tarragon and zingy Dijon lemon dressing in this salad.

Asparagus and tarragon pair well with egg dishes, poultry, seafood and game meats. I love serving this salad alongside my Dijon rabbit stew and it also makes an impressive side for a dinner party. Try it with…

• Rabbit stew (try it with chicken if you prefer)
• Whole baked trout
•  Mustard stuffed chicken
• Goats cheese tart, for a light lunch

More on tarragon

Tarragon is a French culinary favourite used in herbs de fines and n Béarnaise sauce, it is a tender leafy herb with a bittersweet aromatic taste similar to anise or liquorice.

What can I substitute for tarragon…

You could try substituting with equal amounts of fresh chervil or fennel fronds, you could also try dill, basil or marjoram in its place though these herbs do not have the anise flavour they still work as a replacement.

For dried spices try a good quality dried tarragon (it should have a liquorice-like tarragon aroma and not smell like wet-grass). You can also use a pinch of fennel seed or anise seed for each tablespoon of fresh tarragon used for this salad it would be approximately ½ – 1 teaspoon.

How to make your oven-roasted asparagus salAD

The best way to test how much you should cut from your asparagus is to hold the asparagus about halfway down the spear and bend the stalk until it snaps.

1. Preheat your oven to 220⁰C (425⁰F).
2. Hold the asparagus about halfway down the spear and bend the stalk until it snaps. Use it as a guide to cut the rest of your asparagus stalks by lining them up together and cutting off with a sharp chef’s knife.
3. Place your washed and trimmed asparagus in a large tray and toss with the olive oil, tarragon, lemon zest, salt and pepper until well coated.
4. Put your tray with the asparagus in the middle rack of your oven and roast until golden brown and tender (approximately 10-20 minutes depending on its thickness). Remove when done.
5. Add the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and Dijon to a glass jar and shake until emulsified, pour over your asparagus and toss gently until, well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste.
6. Arrange your oven-roasted asparagus on a platter and garnish with spiralized lemon and extra tarragon, serve at room temperature or cold.

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Some tips for roasting asparagus

For perfect oven-roasted asparagus each and every time it is important that you…

1Trim the woody ends.
As the bottom ends of asparagus are woody and fibrous and difficult to bite through even when cooked you most definitely should cut them – don’t miss this important step.  

2Don’t overcrowd your pan.
Roast your asparagus in a single layer, spaced out over your pan, otherwise, your asparagus will steam and not brown properly. Remember we are oven roasting the asparagus to get a nice char.

3Roast according to asparagus size.
Thin asparagus should take 10-12 minutes while thicker asparagus will take 15-20 minutes. Roast until the base of the asparagus is easily pierced through by a fork.

For more asparagus recipes…

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