Roasted Asparagus

One of my favorite methods for cooking vegetables is oven-roasting.  It's quick, simple, easy to clean up, and requires minimal ingredients.  Vegetables tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper come out of the oven with intensified flavors and even a light nuttiness.  The asparagus turned out great here, though the grape tomatoes could have used some slow, lower-temperature roasting to really bring out their sweetness.   

Roasted Asparagus
Serves 4

1 bunch of asparagus (about 1 lb)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.  Rinse the asparagus to clean.  Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus and discard.  (If you take a single asparagus and snap the end, typically it will snap off right where the tough/dry portion starts.  Use this snapped asparagus as your length guide to cut off the ends of the rest of the bunch.)
2. Place the asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet or foil-covered baking pan.  Drizzle with the olive oil and roll the spears around to make sure they are evenly coated.  Rearrange the spears into a single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Place pan in the oven and roast for about 10 minutes until tender enough to pierce with a fork but still slightly crisp.