Grilled Asparagus with Lemon and Manchego Cheese

Name: Grilled Asparagus with Lemon and Manchego Cheese
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 2 lbs asparagus; 2 Tablespoons olive oil; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper; 1/2 cup finely shredded Manchego cheese ((can substitute Parmesan, Romano, or sharp white cheddar)); zest of one lemon; 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley

4/23/18

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Grilled asparagus with lemon is a delicious and healthy way to eat fresh asparagus. This grilled asparagus recipe adds even more flavor with Manchego cheese for a simple summer vegetable side dish. Not only is it low carb and vegetarian, it’s also one of my favorite gluten free asparagus recipes! If you follow the tips for the best way to grill asparagus you’ll end up with perfectly grilled vegetables every time.

For this recipe, you need nothing more than asparagus, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and Manchego cheese. The key is in the preparation, so fire up the grill and grab your tongs, plus a zester or fine grater to zest the lemon and finely grate the cheese.

Next weekend is Memorial Day and my husband has already set off all of my anxieties – he said he wants to invite a few people from work over for a barbecue. Now you would think as a food blogger I would be excited about this. I love to cook. I love to try new recipes. But I think being a food blogger is what sets off my anxieties.

You see, people know I am a food blogger. The Hubby tells them what I do, maybe they even check out my site and they see perfectly plated, well-lit dishes that look amazing. So I get a little teeny bit paranoid that they are going to expect that when they come over. You know, like if I try a new dish and it isn’t a homerun, they’re gonna be all like, “She’s a food blogger?! She does this for a living?!” And if I just go with the basics, again, they’ll be all like, “She’s a food blogger?! She does this for a living?!”

I know it’s all in my head. Maybe they are happy to just come over for a fun afternoon. Maybe they don’t care what I make, and maybe they are happy to even bring along a dish or two. But I feel like I need to live up to the expectations that really only exist in my own head.

And the crazy thing is that it goes both ways. I think people are sometimes intimidated to cook for a food blogger, when really I’m just happy to enjoy food I don’t have to cook and company. So I guess if those are my expectations, I should expect that others’ expectations of me are the same. We all just want to have a good time.

So maybe we’ll just go with burgers and dogs, and I don’t even have to make them all fancy, like Meatball Parmesan Burgers or Buffalo Blue Cheese and Bacon Hot Dogs. And maybe I’ll even give in and let the guests help out with the sides and sweets.

But if you want to impress without much effort, you need to make grilled asparagus with lemon and Manchego cheese!

The best way to grill asparagus…

Wash and dry your asparagus, then snap off the woody ends. If you grasp the cut end of the asparagus stalk and towards the middle, then snap, it’ll break whee it needs to in order to leave the tender part.
Preheat your grill to medium heat. If you have it too high, it’ll burn the asparagus before it gets tender.
Toss the asparagus in olive oil, salt and pepper, and place on the grill.
Grill for 8-10 minutes, flipping once with tongs, until tender and slightly charred.
Remove the asparagus from the grill to a serving platter.

Then to make Grilled Asparagus with Lemon and Manchego Cheese, simply top the asparagus with finely grated Manchego cheese and fresh lemon zest.

No Manchego? No problem. Some Parmesan or Romano or Asiago would work just fine, or you could even use an extra sharp white cheddar.

But if you’ve bought this special Spanish cheese, here are more Manchego cheese recipes…

Chorizo Sweet Potato Spanish Tortilla Bites
Manchego and Roasted Pepper Stuffed Mushrooms from The Little Ferraro Kitchen
Paprika Manchego Polenta from Barefeet in the Kitchen
Three Cheese Scalloped Potatoes from The Little Kitchen

Love lemon? Try these recipes:

Lemon Parmesan Roasted Broccoli recipe-2484 title

Creamy-Greek-Yogurt-Honey-Lemon-Lime-Salad-Dressing-3-title.jpg

Lemon White Wine Green Beans and Mushrooms | cupcakesandkalechips.com

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Here are a few things you might need to make this grilled asparagus recipe…

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How to Make Grilled Asparagus with Lemon and Manchego Cheese

After preparing the grilled asparagus, top it with shredded Manchego cheese and some lemon zest. The preparation is totally basic, but the flavor is anything but. You get the lovely earthy char on the asparagus. The cheese melts ever-so-slightly and brings a sharp, salty bite. And the heat from the asparagus releases all of the flavor and aroma from just a little bit of zest, giving a light, fresh flavor to balance the richness of the cheese. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Serve this as a side to Grilled Orange Saffron Chicken Legs and you have a Spanish-inspired meal everyone will love.

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