Pesto Rosso Roasted Asparagus

Pesto Rosso, made from sun dried tomatoes, basil, olive oil and cheese, adds loads of umami delight to roasted asparagus. With only 3 ingredients and ready in 15 minutes, this roasted asparagus is a superbly simple yet amazing flavor sensation that you’ll want to make again and again.

I know, it’s almost July, but asparagus season is still here, in my part of the world, and I’m going to savor every moment of it.

I found this jar of Pesto Rosso in my cupboard … purchased long ago from Aldi … I’m not really sure why because I love making my own Pesto Rosso that I store in the freezer on my “pesto” shelf. It’s not a huge shelf, by any means, but one of the levels in the door of my upright freezer is dedicated to all things pesto. It’s been years, though, since I made this enticing red sauce, something I really need to repeat again. I keep hoping those big jars of sun dried tomatoes will come back to Costco … perhaps I’m dreaming. Well for today I have this. I opened it, and tasted it, and remembered all the reasons I loved sun dried tomato pesto so very much. It’s joy in paste form.

Did you know that sun dried tomatoes contains four times the umami of regular tomatoes?!? Neither did I until today … but it totally makes sense. They taste SO good!

I decided my lovely red pesto needed to meet my favorite spring veggie, and so I did a drizzle, a quick simple toss, a little sprinkle of salt & pepper, stick them in the oven and got ready to enjoy. Just 15 minutes later I had a whole pan full of mouthwatering roasted asparagus.

Did you ever notice how a simple roasting makes veggies taste so much better? Roasting caramelizes the veggies, bringing out the natural sugars inside, making them taste sweeter, more enticing. This caramelization is a non-enzymic browning reaction that happens when there is no water and sugars break down from the heat, according to the Science of Cooking.

Add to that the umami of sun dried tomatoes with basil and cheese and you have a super sumptuous side dish.

I had a hard time keeping myself from munching on these lovely spears long enough to take pictures. I ate over half of them as I attempted to plate them and there weren’t really many left for shooting. Still I persevered … and then looked at the pics later (after that batch was gone) and decided it needs a new photo shoot. So (lucky me!) I got to repeat the whole process over again, much to my taste buds’ delight.

Honestly I could eat this every day. A light sprinkle of toasted pinons (pine nuts) is the perfect finishing touch. I’ve munched them straight out of the oven, chopped up the spears and put them in scrambled eggs, enjoyed them as a snack, served them as a side dish, and I have yet to tire of them. I will run out of fresh asparagus soon, but that’s okay. It’s almost time to make room for summer veggies, fresh from the garden. Crisp cool salads, chilled beverages, juicy tomatoes, smoky goodness from the grill.

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Looking for more asparagus recipes?

Here are some more of my favorite ways to enjoy asparagus!

Salads and Snacks:

• Shrimp & Roasted Asparagus Salad
• Bulgur Corn & Asparagus Salad
• Lemony Roasted Asparagus and Rice Salad
• Baked Sriracha Ranch Asparagus Fries

Breakfast:

• Swiss Ham & Asparagus Egg Bake
• Mushroom Asparagus Hash
• Asparagus Sweet Pepper Breakfast Scramble
• Baked Eggs in Asparagus Sweet Onion Nests

Dinner:

• Bacon Asparagus Ribbon Pizza with Zucchini Crust
• Creamy Barley Risotto with Asparagus & Sea Scallops
• Asparagus & Cheese Salmon Rolls