Article: The skinny on roasted asparagus Spears topped with bread crumbs and cheese done in about 12 minutes

Fat asparagus spears have their charms, but pencil-thin spears have two distinct advantages in a time-sensitive kitchen. They can be cooked without peeling, because their outer sheaths are so tender, and they cook so much faster, which is an asset for roasting.

Thin asparagus can be roasted in about 12 minutes, which makes the spears shrivel, brown slightly and gain complex flavor. It would take at least twice as long to do that with thick spears.

I like to roast thin spears until they're tender, then top them with coarse fresh bread crumbs and Parmesan. Run that under the broiler for a minute or two, and you get roasted asparagus with a crunchy, high-impact crust. Just watch the dish ...

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