This was so FLAVORFUL! I doubled the sauce only I took the suggestions of others & used just 1 tbp. of soy & 2 Tbp. of balsamic. I did brown the butter (what an aroma!) & also reduced the balsamic a bit after I added it to the butter. I poured the sauce over a broiled rib-eye steak as well as the asparagus. YUMMM! I served the steak & asparagus w/ a red grape & feta cheese on romaine salad & glass of white zin, which complemented the flavors well...it was a very, very tasty meal.
I've been making asparagus this way for the past couple of years. I discovered the recipe in an issue of Cooking Light magazine (the only difference is in Cooking Light they use kosher salt and omit the pepper, as I recall) and it is OUTSTANDING! I've made this in my toaster oven (much better results than in a full-sized oven) for everyone who comes over to eat and they are always impressed. It's absolutely THE simplist, best-tasting recipe for asparagus you'll find. The trick, and this is an important note, is to slightly burn the butter (never use margarine) before adding the vinegar and soy. Unbelieveable!
Not only healthy but good for you! A MUST: Brown the butter for the full richness of this side dish!
i have made this recipe on many occasions since first seeing it in Cooking Light magazine. I would suggest watching the asparagus carefully as it goes to tender crisp to crisp quickly. also i sprinkle the asparagus with kosher salt prior to placing it to roast. finally the original recipe called for brown butter(melted til it is browned lightly) which is important i think for the overall taste.
This was fantastic! I think it would be great on green beans as well. If i had one recomendation it would be to up the balsamic to 2 teaspoons as it had more of a soy taste overall. Also since the recipe calls for soy I skipped the salt altogether. Update I tried this on steamed green beans last night and I swapped the amounts of balsamic and soy. This was even better than the original recipe as it definately had more of a balsamic flavor.
Wow! I used smart balance instead of butter and did as other posters and used 1t of soy sauce and 1T of balsamic vinegar. With the asparagus I used EVOO spray ground pepper light drizzle of soy sauce and garlic powder. I heated until brown and bubbly then simmered til the spears were ready. I poured the sauce over the spears into the same hot pan as the spears were cooked. I think this helped to carmelize the balsamic vinegar. So sweet and yummy and not too salty. This is my new fav!
WOW!!! I was not expecting to like this and I definitely didn't think my kids would. But we all LOVED it!!!! This is easy, tasty and good for you!! I did what others suggested, I 1) Browned the butter (not margaine) 2) Used Kosher salt and omitted the pepper 3) Used 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 TBSP of Balsamic vinegar. My daughter actually wanted me to make more when the asparagus serving dish was empty!!!! A definite keeper. P.S. I have made this many a time since reviewing, absolutely great, but if I am too lazy to make this very easy sauce, I just sprinkle asparagus with parmesan cheese after baking.
This is one of those recipes where the sum is more than the parts. If you like asparagus, it is amazing how good this is. Bake asparagus until it gets tender and starts to carmelize - if you take it out while still crunchy and fresh in the middle, it's not as good. Definitely pour the sauce on immediately on taking it out of the oven, so it will sizzle. I've also baked a piece of salmon with the asparagus, made extra sauce and poured it on both. What a meal!!!
Very good and a very easy way to not overcook your asparagus-which is so easy to do. I took others suggestions with the sauce and swapped the amounts for the soy and balsamic(1tsp soy, 1 tbs balsamic). I also doubled the sauce which I really don't think you have to do because I didn't use it all in the end-and I had alot of asparagus. I did brown the butter and it gave it such a nice taste with the sauces but next time I want to try just using melted butter not browned beacuse I think the brown butter overpowered the great flavors of the soy and balsamic. But I must say it was still soo delicious that there was none left. Really worth a try-you wont be dissapointed.
I don't think I care for the 2 strong flavors of the balsamic and soy on a delicate vegetable such as asparagus. My soy sauce was even low sodium. Don't think I'll make again...
