Asparagus Soup
It’s easy and summer cooling bliss!
When You think of soup most think cold weather. Actually soup is all year round. This particular soup is a summer soup. Eating seasonally means adjusting veggies, cooking techniques and adding specific herbs and spices to either warm our bodies or cool us off - both always nurting our soul - ever heard of feeding your soul? Food does just that!
The healing benefits of asparagus are huge. The veggie goes back to ancient times when the Egyptians used asparagus in their cooking. to clear their skin and release excess water retention - basically flushing out extra salt or sodium from the body - hmmm anti-inflammatory - I’ll take that! Asparagus has 1 gram of fiber per 1 cup, antioxidants, improves digestion, detoxifies the blood - whoa! My kind of veggie!
Asparagus can be eaten all year round although we tend to gravitate to bitter vegetables in the hot season. There’s a darn good reason for that! Bitter flavors are great to chill the heat in the warmer months because they are drying. Go for the bitter veggies in the summer: asparagus, broccoli, green beans, leafy greens and zucchini.
Fennel seeds - an ingredient in this recipe has a cooling effect on the body. A great heat tonic: place fennel seeds in water - let them steep, drain and drink. The fennel water will calm the body from heat. Its also great for digestion, too. One track mind here! Always working on digestive health for myself and others.
dairy-free vegan vegetarian paleo nut-free
1 tsp coking oil or ghee - clarified butter - dairy
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 onion chopped
2 cups asparagus chopped
pinch of salt
2-3 tbsp rolled oats
cilantro or parsley to garnish soup
-place oil or ghee, cumin, onion in a pot and sauté for 2 minutes
-add asparagus and sauté for 3 minutes
-add water to cover
-bring to boil and simmer until vegetables are soft 10-15 minutes
-allow to cool and blend to puree until soup is smooth
-garnish with parsley or cilantro
Genia’s Spoon Me Tips: To thicken a pureed soup rolled oats are wonderful and my fave. You can also use 2 tsp of almond flour, but then it becomes a no nut-free soup. A white potato will also thicken the soup but it’s too heavy and starchy. Stay away from the unnecessary cream that most restaurants and chefs use to thicken their soups.
To add more taste and tart you can add umeboshi plum vinegar and/or lemon/lime to your soup. These will add more flavor.
You can follow the instructions to this soup - letting the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes OR when the water is added to the soup you can take it off the stove and put into a blender that has a soup feature and will heat up your soup and puree it in seconds. I use the Vitamin Professional Series 750 - my kitchen buddy!
Spooning you much love,
Genia