Instructions: To those of us who have seen and tasted the awful outcome of overcooking the first, fresh green stalks of spring, the idea of subjecting asparagus tender spears to a 450-degree oven seems unthinkable.

But if youve never tried roasting asparagus, youre missing something deeply delectable. The flavor becomes bigger. Rounder. Sweeter. The grass-green color turns richer, burnished with streaks of bronze. And the texture - though not always as crisp as steamed asparagus - is tender and medium-firm.

Once youve gotten your fill of steamed spears dressed with butter and lemon, or stir-fried asparagus with sesame oil and soy sauce, or creamy, pale green, pureed soups, turn to roasting.

Like all vegetables, when you roast asparagus, you lose a lot of water.

That makes them look less attractive, but it has the effect of concentrating the flavors, says Andrea Chesman, author of The Roasted Vegetable (Harvard Common Press). And although asparagus isnt really a sugar-rich vegetable, it does have sugar, which caramelizes, and the flavor is delicious. The trade-off is appearance.

Like other roasted vegetables, the spears shrink and become slightly wrinkled. Its really not as good-looking as when you steam it, Chesman says.

But its still delicious, roasted and drizzled with balsamic vinegar or lemon juice and sprinkled with a little coarse sea salt at the table.

Add roasted asparagus to cooked pasta dishes and to rice or pasta salads.

Dress it with a flavorful vinaigrette and toss with other vegetables for a side dish. Its great on pizza - especially one topped with goat cheese. And it will surprise you in a sturdy focaccia sandwich; try it in combination with garlic aioli, roasted red pepper, bacon, fresh mozzarella and spring greens.

The basic asparagus-roasting technique is easy:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash and trim asparagus spears as you would for streaming: Snap off the tough end and, if you prefer, use a vegetable peeler to thinly shave some of the skin off the sides near the bottom. Spread the spears on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Use two pans, if necessary, to avoid crowding.

Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and roll spears around to coat lightly but completely. You should add salt after roasting instead of before. And try to avoid roasting soft and hard vegetables in the same pan. Roast medium-thick spears about 15 minutes, thin ones about 11 minutes, occasionally shaking the pan for even browning.

Theyre done when theyre tender throughout and lightly browned or deeply browned, but not charred, Chesman says. You dont want to blacken vegetables; they get nasty when theyre charred. If your recipe calls for coating asparagus with something besides oil before roasting - say, a lemon vinaigrette - lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees to reduce the risk of burning the marinade and creating off-flavors.

But dont worry: Roasting is a nearly fool-proof way to prepare asparagus. and since its in season, you can afford to experiment a little.

Even the purists will thank you.

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