Grilled asparagus rafts

[Twinmama]

I recently was looking through cookbooks to find a different (i.e., not steaming) way of preparing asparagus and found a grilled asparagus "rafts" recipe in an old Cooking Light annual.

the marinade was not the intriguing part (soy sauce, olive oil, salt and pepper), but the RAFT part caught my attention. Basically it had you thread five stalks of asparagus onto two bamboo skewers, so that it sort of looks like a little raft. it makes it super easy to grill and not have to worry that the asparagus might fall down into the coals.

of course, this is probably old news to y'all, but I swear, it was a revelation to us! We make asparagus rafts all the time now, and now grill asparagus almost as much as we do zucchini.

[peacherina]

This is not old news to me. Thanks for this tip. I have never had grill asparagus. Sounds yummy

[alice.b.toklas]

That's a great tip for grilling asparagus. We have a camping trailer and are always cooking outside to keep the heat out of the trailer. So now I have a new vegetable to grill. Thanks!

Have you tried grilled zuchinni or yellow squash? To make, wash and cut in quarters lengthwise. For large squash, cut into 5 or 6 inch lengths. Place the squash quarters in a ziplock bag, and add 1/2 cup or so of Italian seasoning. Let marinate for at least a 1/2 hour in a refrigerator or ice chest. Then grill away from coals for 10 minutes, turning a couple times. The oil from the dressing will flare up so don't cook right over the coals.

[Traciray]

We tried this last weekend with some grilled chicken and it was delish. Thanks for the recipe, its a keeper.

[alice.b.toklas]

I'm headed to the beach today with my grill, and think I'll stop by the local SuperFresh store and pick up some asparagus and skewers to have for lunch.

[alice.b.toklas]

I made these as promised. I couldn't remember how to thread the asparagus into a raft. For some reason I was thinking the asparagus raft was like a boat, and I was afraid of breaking the asparagus. So I just threaded the asparagus at the widest part on a single bamboo skewer.

So the long and short of it is, they grilled fine and tasted great. The second skewer would have made the asparagus a little easier to grill.

[Kaabi]

Eewwww, asparagus. My friend told me it was like broccoli, and that I would like it. But I didn't like it, I didn't like it one bit.

[Twinmama]

What kind did you have, kaabi? IMO, canned or overcooked asparagus is naaaasty. You have to go with fresh asparagus that has been either steamed or grilled.

[muslgrl]

What a neat idea I love asparagus.

[TexasRose]

I have never liked asparagus but maybe I need to try it grilled with a marinade like you mentioned.