Roasted Shrimp & Asparagus with Shallot Lemon Vinaigrette

Daylight savings time. Some people are militant about the concept of its existence, but we don't mind here in the bay area as it signifies that spring is really upon us and we can shed the "winter" wardrobe. Even our pupper Marlowe, who gained a few winter pounds [Ed. note: She is beautiful how dare you shame her!], is shedding a bit of her winter coat. Our trees are sprouting blooms, and the BF just informed me that our lovely fuchsia tree-bush has tiny little buds appearing at the end of its spindly limbs.

Still, this week's weather has screwed me up. Every other day is rain and then sun. One day I crave hot soup, and the next day, spring-time asparagus and shrimp. Is spring here to stay? Every time the coat and boots are put away in the closet, there's another rain band on the Doppler radar, and the next day the thermostat reads 70 °F.

Hopefully this one-sheet-pan shrimp and asparagus dish will serve as a worthy transitional meal.
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The fact you only need to use one pan makes this incredibly fast and easy to make. I adapted the recipe to make in your oven, instead of a grill, and cut out several steps from the original, so you don't need to dirty extra bowls. [Ed. note: Insert Napoleon Dynamite, "YESS!"]

Adapted from: What's for Dinner? Delicious Recipes for a Busy Life, Curtis Stone
Number of Servings: 4

NOTE: I cook the asparagus and shrimp separately to keep the asparagus from getting soggy. Roasting asparagus with shrimp will steam the asparagus as the shrimp releases water when roasting.

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound medium-thin asparagus, woody ends trimmed
• 1 pound large (21 to 30 count) shrimp, peeled, tails left on, and de-veined
• ⅓ cup shaved Pecorino Romano cheese, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 °F.
2. Grate zest from lemon into small bowl.
3. Squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice from lemon and add to bowl. Add shallots and whisk together.
4. Gradually whisk in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Spread asparagus on large-rimmed baking sheet, coat with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 5-6 minutes until  crisp tender and bright green.
6. Divide asparagus among four dinner plates.
7. Using same baking sheet as the asparagus, spread shrimp out and coat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast 5-6 minutes until almost opaque throughout when pierced with tip of sharp knife.
8. Remove shrimp from oven and place over the plated asparagus.
9. Spoon shallot lemon vinaigrette over asparagus and shrimp.
10. Sprinkle Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese over shrimp, if desired, and serve hot.