Cream of Asparagus Soup, Springtime Comfort Food

Earlier this week I attended a cooking class at one of my very favorite culinary stores, A Thyme for Everything.  The class was taught by Chef Jasper Mirabile and featured a Springtime in Italy theme.

During class, we learned how to make ricotta cheese, a beautiful ricotta citrus tart, chicken Vesuvio and a pasta primavera. But for me, the most intriguing of the dishes was an asparagus soup.

You see, asparagus isn’t a favorite of mine.  Often, I encourage my culinary coaching clients to try a food just once.  Maybe they will like it if it’s prepared in a way that’s new to them.  Maybe the flavor combined with other foods and spices will connect with them.  Yet I’m reluctant when it comes to asparagus.  I need to lead by example, I need to find a way to love asparagus!

But why start with this soup?  Well, it smelled divine in cooking class.  While I couldn’t sample it in class (dairy and chicken stock were used), I knew I wanted to try it based on the smell alone.  Perhaps it was the smell and the ooohs and aaahs of the other class attendees.  Whatever it was, I stopped on the way home from class to buy asparagus and found myself making the first batch of this very late at night immediately following the class.  This week has been packed with asparagus in my kitchen.

This soup did the trick!  After creating several batches of this soup, I’m now officially a fan of asparagus.  I think you’ll enjoy it, too!

Print

Cream of Asparagus Soup, Springtime Comfort Food

Author Johnna

Ingredients

• 1 T . coconut oil
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions (about 7) and additional for garnish
• 1/2 cup diced carrots (about 1 1/2 carrots)
• 2 bunches fresh asparagus (about 2 pounds)
• 13.6 oz . can of light coconut milk
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In large stockpot, melt coconut oil over medium heat.
2. Add green onions and saute until just tender. Add carrots and asparagus, cooking for about 10 minutes until vegetables become just slightly tender.
3. Add can of coconut milk and one cup of vegetable. Turn down to a low simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, carefully transfer soup to blender (might need to do this in batches) or use immersion blender to cream soup. If the soup is thicker than you prefer, add the additional 1/2 cup of vegetable broth.
5. Return to stockpot and heat if necessary.
6. Top with green onions and black pepper and serve.