A fabulous, pretty, simple warm-weather side. Make sure to serve the grilled asparagus with grains or crusty bread to sop up all of the tangy vinaigrette.
Preheat the grill to medium. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
On a sheet pan, toss the asparagus with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Transfer to the grill with the spears facing perpendicular to the grates. Use tongs to turn them as they get grill marks on the bottom, until they are cooked to your liking, anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus and how well you like them cooked. Don’t forget that they will continue to cook a bit after you remove them from the heat.
Transfer them to a serving platter and drizzle over the vinaigrette. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Instead of grilling the asparagus, you can roast it instead. Or you can “grill” the asparagus in a grill pan over medium-high heat. The cooking times should be the same as for grilling over live fire (see instructions below). You could also steam or boil the asparagus – any way you cook it, just make sure you drizzle over the vinaigrette while the asparagus is still warm so they soak up some of the dressing as they cool!