I am really looking forward to a couple of things this year. Residing in only one state is at the top of this list. I have an asparagus patch in my yard, and I am planning on growing some tomatoes, peppers, and herbs in pots on my patio. I can already feel the press of spring when I go to the grocery store. Asparagus is abundant and affordable for a change. I picked up a couple of pounds at Hy-Vee the other day and created this dish.
Roasted Asparagus Caponata
I am a big fan of roasting vegetables, and asparagus is no exception. The asparagus spears were cleaned, trimmed, then tossed in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then roasted at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. I made the sauce by simmering a can of diced tomatoes with garlic, Italian herbs, and diced red bell pepper. At the end I tossed in some capers and garnished with a bit of nutritional yeast for that parmesan effect. This was ended up being a side dish to accompany some stuffed peppers.
I know it's kind of hard to see what is going on because I made a last minute decision to smother things with Daiya. Sometimes you just gotta! It really added a nice dimension to the dish and helped everything stick together. To make this, I cut some red bell peppers in half and stuffed them with a mixture of brown rice, lentils, carrots, onions, garlic, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, tamari, and red wine vinegar. I baked them at 350 until the peppers were tender. One thing I am glad I did was add some water to the filling and in the baking dish before tossing it in the oven. Otherwise I think things would have dried out a bit. Here is a picture of my dinner all together:
What a great meal! Rarely do I eat more than one dish at a time, or use plates for anything. It was nice to have a real sit-down meal for a change!
