Tender green asparagus sautéed in garlic butter and served over Parmesan polenta. If you’re looking for a lightning-fast weeknight dinner, you can never go wrong with this simple springtime meal. Serve with a fried egg and top with lemony basil oil, and in about 20 minutes you’ll have a fresh and easy dinner.
It’s creamy, cheesy and delicious. The addition of basil oil is not only great for flavor, but it also adds a really nice pop of color.
This is one of those dishes that you’ll make once and it sure can become a repeat favorite. It’s also just as easy to make for one person as it is to make for a whole house of guests. Just make an extra batch of polenta, throw in more asparagus, and fry up extra eggs. And if you can’t get your hands on asparagus, some green beans or broccolini make for a delicious stand-in.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
More asparagus, please!
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You need
- 200 g (7 oz) green asparagus, thin spears
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 20 basil leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt + black pepper
- 2 eggs
- grated Parmesan, for serving
polenta
- 125 g (4.4 oz) instant polenta
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk
- 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable broth
- 50 g (1.8 oz) grated Parmesan
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- salt + black pepper
How to
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
Snap off any woody exterior from the bottom of the asparagus. Cut the asparagus in half lengthways.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add pine nuts, toast until golden, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Remove from skillet.
To the same skillet, add olive oil and butter. Add asparagus, sauté for 5 minutes or until tender but still crisp. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in garlic, cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Remove skillet from heat and stir in basil. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Set aside, while you make the polenta.
In a saucepan, bring vegetable broth and milk to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta, stirring continuously, about 2-3 minutes, over low heat. Turn off the heat. Stir in Parmesan, salt and black pepper. Add butter and stir to combine. Cover and let stand for 1 minute. If the polenta thickens too much, thin with some additional milk or water. Add more salt and pepper, if needed.
In the meantime, melt a little butter over low heat in a non-stick skillet and fry the eggs. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide polenta among bowls, top with asparagus and eggs. Sprinkle with basil oil, toasted pine nuts and, if desired, some extra black pepper and grated Parmesan. Enjoy!
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Very hungry for some of these recipes.
That’s great! Hope you love the recipes. Happy cooking!