My husband and I love both asparagus and shrimp. When we lived in the USA it was easy to find asparagus all the time, I don’t recall ever going to the grocery store and there not being asparagus, so it pretty much was a staple in our meals. However, since we’ve moved to Italy it has been tough to find asparagus, the grocery stores here only carry fruits and veggies that are in season, so you can’t find asparagus year round as you can in the USA.

Asparagus 101: Spring is the best season for fresh asparagus. Crops are harvested from late February to June, with April being the prime month. High in vitamins B6 and C, plus fiber, folate and glutathione, an anti-carcinogen and antioxidant, asparagus is an excellent nutritional choice. It comes in three colors: white, green or purple, although the green variety is the most common. White asparagus is popular in much of Europe and is produced by keeping the growing shoots hidden from light under soil.

All this to say that we finally went to the market this weekend and found asparagus, my heart skipped a beat I was so happy to finally be able to buy some asparagus (that wasn’t over priced like $10 for a quarter lb.) so we bought the asparagus and decided we would make one of our favorite simple delicious dishes we used to make in the USA ‘Roasted Asparagus and Shrimp”. It turned out delicious as always and we wanted to share it with you.

This dish doesn’t take long at all, it’s very simple and yes you can make it in 20 minutes, so if you are running home late for work don’t give into something on the go, make this dish and feel like a million bucks. Trust me it’s worth it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Asparagus

1/2 lb. Shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven at 350°.  Grab a large roasting pan, line it up with parchment paper lay out your asparagus evenly on one side and then on the other side pour your shrimp evenly. (I used the big black oven roasting pan, or you could use 2 separate baking trays, it’s up to you)

Slice your garlic and pour some over the asparagus and some over the shrimp, now pour the olive oil evenly over both as well and then season with the salt and pepper.
Put in the oven and roast for 20 minutes and then serve. Buon apettito!