Grilled asparagus gets a boost of flavor with a delicious sesame citrus dressing. The perfect side dish for spring! JUMP TO RECIPE
No other vegetable symbolizes spring as much as asparagus. If you’re making an effort to eat seasonally, now is the time to enjoy this perennial flowering plant species. Of course, you can find asparagus at the grocery store any time of year, but in the off-season, it’ll likely come from Peru or China and will certainly lose some of its freshness during the transcontinental plane ride to the U.S. After all, vegetables suffer from jet-lag too! To really savor asparagus, you’ll want to jazz it up a bit so that you fully appreciate its beauty, versatility, and amazing flavor. This recipe for Orange Sesame Grilled Asparagus will help you do just that! A simple citrus dressing and a sprinkling of delicate sesame seeds on top of perfectly charred asparagus spears will leave you with a newfound love for asparagus and one more reason to welcome spring!
Asparagus season in the U.S. runs from February through June with April being the peak of the season. When shopping for asparagus look for smooth, glossy spears with tightly closed tips. Another sign of freshness is stem ends that look recently cut and are still green. Woody looking stem ends mean the asparagus is past its prime. This recipe for Orange Sesame Grilled Asparagus works best with spears that are on the larger size, in other words, not the pencil thin variety which will likely cook too quickly over high grill heat.
Orange Sesame Grilled Asparagus is a beautiful side dish that can be served hot or cold. If you grill the asparagus ahead of time, which is great for entertaining, don’t put the dressing and sesame seeds on until right before serving, otherwise the citrus may dull the vibrant green color of the spears.
For other easy and delicious vegetable side dishes check out: Panko Parmesan Crusted Asparagus, Garlic Parmesan Carrot Fries with Za’atar Mayonnaise, Oven Roasted Vegetable Platter, and Blue Cheese Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Crispy Prosciutto.
If you make Orange Sesame Grilled Asparagus don’t forget to snap a pic and tag me over on Instagram @QueenofMyKitchen. I’d love to see your creation!
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Zest of one navel orange
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of pepper
- 1 pound of asparagus, tough ends removed
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
- Preheat grill. Whisk together the orange juice, lemon juice, garlic, zest, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Grill the asparagus over high heat until the spears have nice char marks and are crisp tender. (This could take anywhere from 2 - 5 minutes or more depending on the size of the asparagus.) Transfer to a serving platter.
- Right before serving re-whisk the orange sesame dressing and spoon over the asparagus. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and serve
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So simple and delicious looking!! I could totally eat a whole plate of those right now.