Yummy grape tomatoes star with asparagus in this speedy summer side dish

If we have one of ’em, we have a million. From my back porch they look like miniature red balls decorating a tiny forest of Christmas trees. We can’t even remember planting grape tomatoes; they’re probably some relic of a planting effort of previous years, but they are everywhere in our garden.

When Hubby goes out with the gathering basket and brings in the most recent harvest, the two of us stand at the kitchen sink and eat them as though they were grapes—such a fresh, delicious little snack. But we can’t snack on all of them, so I’ve been hunting recipes to use them up.

When we were in their home recently, our daughter-in-law served Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes as an intriguing side with burgers our son had grilled. Remembering my grape tomato crop that would be awaiting me when I returned home, I asked for a copy of the recipe, which had appeared on cookinglight.com at its Side Dish of the Month in April 2011.

SuperFast it was, with asparagus steamed in a skillet and then drained and removed. Into the skillet go the tomatoes and garlic cooked in olive oil, with balsamic vinegar and salt added. With the steamed asparagus arrayed on a platter, the tomato mixture tops it, followed by crumbled goat cheese and pepper. With a whopping 69 calories a serving no side could hold a candle to this in terms of flavor and color.

No dent in the grape tomato crop to be sure, but we really, enjoyed this unusual side dish and hope to enjoy it a few more times this season as long as those miniature red Christmas balls hang within our view—if we don’t snack them all up first!

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups halved grape (or cherry) tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

3 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese (I substituted feta cheese)

black pepper

Cook asparagus in boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain. Over medium-high heat, heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar; cook 3 minutes. Stir in salt. Arrange asparagus on a platter; top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper. Makes 4 servings.