By Genevieve
It feels like local asparagus season arrived late here in Ontario, and now that it's finally available I feel pressured to make the most of it before it's gone again! So this past weekend when I saw some beautiful super-thin spears of asparagus at the farmers' market, I was sure to pick some up.
And since I knew that fresh picked asparagus only lasts a couple of days, I wanted to make a recipe that would use up the entire bunch in one dish, which is why I made this asparagus soup!
You may be thinking that soup is the last thing you want now that temperatures are warmer, but the good thing about this particular soup is that it can be eaten hot or cold and it tastes great either way!
Another bonus is that the ingredient list is very minimal. The base of the soup is just water (although you could use vegetable broth for more flavour if you like), and the main ingredients are asparagus, onion, and garlic, with a bit of yogurt and lemon added at the end.
With such a simple soup, the flavour of the asparagus is really the highlight, which was what I was aiming for!
I tried eating it both hot and cold and I couldn't decide which version I liked better! I appreciated the cold, creamy version as a light refreshing meal on a warm day, and I think I'll heat up my last serving for lunch today since it's a cool, rainy day and a warm bowl of soup would be nice!
Hot or Cold Asparagus Soup
Adapted from Food 52
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 lb asparagus, divided
- 3-4 cups water (I used 3)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt, plus more for serving (could substitute vegan yogurt)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Extra lemon slices for serving if desired
Instructions:
Break the woody stems off the asparagus. Reserve a few stalks to use as garnish and chop the rest into pieces.
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and asparagus pieces and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion and asparagus have softened.
Add water, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until asparagus is very soft. Remove from heat.
Transfer soup to blender in batches and puree until smooth. Add the yogurt, lemon zest and lemon juice and blend again. Taste and add more seasoning.
Serve hot, or refrigerate until cold and eat as a chilled soup. For the garnish, use a vegetable peeler to shave the reserved asparagus into thin slices. Top each serving with the asparagus shavings and an extra spoonful of yogurt if desired.
Makes 3-4 servings.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment