Oven Roasted Asparagus with Brown Butter 

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Place asparagus on a large baking sheet and spray spears with cooking spray. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 8-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus. You want them tender but not shriveled. Remove from oven and set aside.
  3. Add butter to a small skillet and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring the butter or shaking the pan occasionally. (If you’re using a stainless steel skillet, you’ll see the color start to change to an amber color.) Immediately remove from heat and stir in the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Pour over asparagus and toss to coat. Serve warm.

 

How to make Brown Butter

Making brown butter isn’t hard and it doesn’t take long but you need to be attentive the whole time because the butter can change from browned to burned in seconds.

  1. Start with a light colored or stainless steel skillet. Having a light colored pan versus a dark interior will help you see the transformation of the butter color more easily.
  2. Add your butter to the skillet and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You’ll see the butter foam and the milk solids darken and fall to the bottom of the pan.
  3. There are varying opinions to how dark to let your butter brown, but I usually pull my pan off the stove when the butter is a deep amber color.