Fast & Easy Asparagus Soup
we topped this with little parmesan crisps. any kind of seed is delish, too!
Last week I whipped up this soup on a whim. It’s utterly delicious and has been requested twice more since then!
This may be the easiest soup I’ve ever made. It’s definitely one of the simplest recipes I’ve ever shared—shocking for what a gourmet treat it yields!
During this quarantine, I’m even more hellbent than usual about not wasting any veggies. We’re buying as much fresh produce as possible each time we shop because they’re available, we want to support the farmers, distributors and grocers as well as help keep the supply chain running, and they’re truly anybody’s best defense against illness. Plants keep us healthier than any other foods when it comes to boosting us up with vitamins and minerals.
For the most part, my husband has been our designated food shopper during the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally he tends to do what he calls “guerrilla shopping.” He’s fast, effective and gathers everything we could possibly need without messing around. I tend to “linger-shop.” I’m much more likely to take my time to shop in a relaxed manner, dreaming up meals as I go, reading every single word on every single label, chatting with fellow shoppers and the people working at the market, jotting down ideas in my phone... So, his guerrilla-shopping skills are really coming in handy these days when neither of us wants to be out too long. If he sees fresh broccoli, he grabs two big heads. Brussels sprouts? He’s buying multiple pounds of them. Carrots? The big bag only! I’m pretty sure his inner dialogue sounds something like, ‘Why fiddle with the 1lb bag when we could have the 5lb one? Maggie will come up with lots of things to make! Fresh juice. Muffins and breads. Tofu scramble. Veggie Stir Fry. I mean come on, the possibilities are endless!’ By the time he’s finished thinking this thought tangent, he’s already filled the cart with ten more things.
The night before two bunches of asparagus needed to be eaten so they didn’t go bad, we had just eaten two huge heads of steamed broccoli that I squeezed fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt over. I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired, but even though I didn’t want to steam the asparagus and squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle salt over top of it, it was all I could think to do with it. I had to come up with something else. I put the steamer pot on the stove and asked myself, “If I could have this asparagus prepared any way in the world right now, what would I have?” And “Creamy soup!” was the answer I heard. Say whaaaa?! (I’m pretty good at guerrilla cooking!) So I trimmed up the asparagus and starting thinking about how I could prepare a whole soup and have dinner on the table in a matter of minutes, still ending up with the flavor I was imagining.
This soup did not disappoint. In fact, it delighted! So much so that I had to share this perfectly springy recipe with you here. Any ingredients you don’t already have on hand, are super simple so they’re likely available to you through your local grocery store and/or amazon even during this unique time.
Without further ado, please enjoy…
FAST & EASY ASPARAGUS SOUP
Serves 4-6
2 bunches fresh asparagus, trimmed
1, 15oz can coconut milk
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp Himalayan salt*
1 tsp crushed black pepper
Steam asparagus for up to 5 minutes, until just bright green and beginning to get tender. Remove asparagus from steamer and place it directly into a blender or food processor** right away, while it’s still hot. Add coconut milk, garlic clove, lemon juice, salt and pepper to the asparagus. Blend on high speed until creamy, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
Pour or ladle soup into bowls and serve immediately.
This soup is extra delicious topped with either crunchy croutons, cheese crisps, a sprinkle of pine nuts, or a pinch sesame seeds. For added kick, scatter a few crushed red pepper flakes or drizzle hot pepper oil over the soup. Lastly, to make this extra springy, garnish your soup with fresh or dried parsley.
*Any salt will do so if you don’t have Himalayan salt, don’t fret—this is no-fret soup!
**A high speed blender makes quick work of this recipe and results in a smooth, creamy, frothy texture. If you don’t have a high speed blender, work with whatever you’ve got and aim for making this soup as smooth as possible.
NamastYAY & Bon Appetite!
Maggie
