This is the perfect side dish to any dinner! It’s ready in 20 minutes and is totally vegan & oil-free!
12 oz asparagus spears, washed and patted dry
salt and pepper
1/4 of a lemon
LEMON GINGER SAUCE (makes 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup (60g) water
2 tbsp (30g) fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup (64g) roasted creamy almond butter
2 tsp (8g) peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
2 tsp (10g) agave or maple syrup
2 medium garlic cloves (5g)
1/4 tsp ground turmeric powder
1/4 tsp fine salt + 1/8 teaspoon pepper
NOTE
Don’t worry about this sauce being spicy. The ginger gives amazing ginger flavor, but it is not spicy at all. The lemon juice, almond butter and agave all balance it out like a dream.
I’d suggest making the sauce early in the day or the day before. While it’s not totally necessary, it does thicken as it sits. But it’s delicious immediately.
Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a pan with parchment paper.
Trim the ends off of each asparagus about 2-3 inches. Place on the pan spread out evenly. Squeeze the juice of 1/4 of a lemon over the asparagus. Season with salt and pepper.
Bake for 8-9 minutes until fork tender, but still firm. You don’t want them overcooked and limp, but not raw either. Depending on the thickness of the spears, time may need adjustment by a minute or so.
While the asparagus is roasting, make the sauce.
Add the water, lemon juice, almond butter, ginger, agave, garlic, turmeric, salt & pepper to a food processor or a Vitamix, if you have one. Either will work fine. For the ginger, you want to make sure you get the right amount, so weigh after peeling. I basically grated a large piece of fresh ginger over a bowl and then measured.
Blend everything on low, slowing increasing speed, until smooth. Scrape the sides down well and blend once more on low. It will be a fairly runny sauce, like a salad dressing. This is so it drizzles easily over the asparagus.
But it does thicken overnight or several hours in the fridge. It also doubles beautifully to toss as a salad dressing in greens. So so good.
Drizzle over the hot asparagus and serve immediately.
You will be tempted to drink the sauce!