We've been growing asparagus in our garden for about nine years now. It takes a few years to get started, and then it fluctuates each season. Some years, it's an asparagus explosion, where we have to eat it with every meal, and give some away to friends. The asparagus crop was not as abundant this year, so I treasured what little we did get and tried a few new recipes to mix up the flavors. I thought a soup might get my daughters interested in asparagus; they have pooh-poohed it thus far, even though it grows 30 yards outside our back door every summer. Guess what? It worked! They gobbled up this soup and asked for more! Score one for Mama. Hope you enjoy it as much as they did!
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (I used garlic-infused oil)
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 lb - or one big ol' handful - asparagus, chopped (remove tough ends first)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 2 medium avocados
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
To make:
Sautée the celery in the olive oil for about 8 minutes over low-medium heat. Add asparagus, bay leaves, salt and pepper and stir gently for another 5 minutes. Add the veggie stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Remove bay leaves.
Once it has cooled a bit, add soup to a high-speed blender (insert Vitamix infomercial here), and purée until smooth. Add the avocados and lemon juice, and blend again. To serve warm, pour into bowls from the blender and finish with toppings below. To serve cold, refrigerate for about two hours prior to serving, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooling, and then serve with desired toppings.
Toppings (optional):
- Fresh dill or parsley
- Toasted pepitas
- Teeny asparagus tips (so pretty on top)
- Lemon cashew cream (blend 1/2 cup soaked cashews with a squeeze of lemon juice, 1/4 cup water, and a pinch of salt in a high-speed blender, chill for an hour, spoon gently onto the surface of the soup. This works best if you're serving it cold.)
Easy, peasy, lemon-squeezy. Literally.
With love and happy taste buds from us to you,
P.S.
COOL YET SLIGHTLY DISTASTEFUL ASPARAGUS TRIVIA: Did you know that all people's pee smells from eating asparagus, but about 25% of people are not equipped with the proper receptors to smell it? (That, by the way, is called specific anosmia.) So the next time you hear someone bragging about how his or her pee does not smell from asparagus, you can nod smugly and think: "Oh, yes it does, you ignorant fool - you just can't smell it."