Grilled Asparagus with Herb Pine Nut Sauce

We love roasted vegetables and are always looking for new ways to spruce them up. On this occasion, I found a recipe in my new cookbook, Spork Fed, by Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg for grilled asparagus with an herb pine nut sauce that sounded great. So, we took a chance and it turned out as great as it sounded.

Grilled Asparagus
Serves 6-8

Herb Pine Nut Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1 T neutral tasting oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened soy milk
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
• 2 T fresh lemon juice, plus grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves roasted garlic
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, stemmed and finely chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano, stemmed and finely chopped

Grilled Asparagus Ingredients

• 1 large bunch fresh asparagus, bottoms trimmed
• 2 T neutral tasting high-heat oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions
Start by making the sauce. To begin, dry roast pine nuts in a saucepan over medium-low heat until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove and place in a high-powered blender or food processor. Add oil, soy milk, sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice and zest, and roasted garlic. Blend until smooth. Fold in chopped herbs while reserving some for garnish. Set aside until ready to use.

Heat a grill pan over medium heat and drizzle asparagus with oil. Place asparagus on grill and cook for about 3 minutes, or until grill marks appear. Flip and grill on other side. Sprinkle with sea salt and lemon juice.

To serve, drizzle sauce over asparagus and enjoy!