Roasted, Agave-Glazed Asparagus and Maple-Tahini Dressing

I love asparagus. I love it lightly steamed, and I love it boiled to mush. I love it on it’s own and I love it covered in miso-tahini sauce. To me, there is no wrong way to eat asparagus. But after today there certainly is a right way! Inspired by a thread on the PPK I set out to make a decadent, sweet, delicious asparagus worthy of Paula Deen’s affection. And boy did I!

(Paula-Inspired) Agave-Glazed Asparagus
3 T lemon juice
1 T dijon mustard
3/4 T light agave syrup
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch asparagus, bottoms snapped off

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay asparagus down (not overlapping) in a casserole dish. Drizzle glaze over. Roast 20-25 minutes depending on how much crunch you like.

Maple-Tahini Salad Dressing/Sauce
Based on the maple-tahini sauce from The Foundation in Vancouver. Quite possibly even better!
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 t. ginger powder
5 T. tahini
1 1/2 t. maple syrup
1 t. lime juice (lemon or orange would work too)
3 T. hot water
N.B. this is a very thick sauce. It works well for warm salads or would be great for a stir-fry but would be a bit too rich for a regular, cold salad, in my opinion.

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