This spring asparagus soup was created for the Holmes Place magazine for an ongoing concept of seasonal ‘superfoods’ throughout the year.
Asparagus spears make a deeply fresh, light, vibrant green, cleansing soup that tastes like Spring. It has a sweet bitter and mildly pungent flavour. The lemon supports a gentle cleanse, the dill stimulates the digestive juices helping in the bowel’s movement, while the asparagus promotes circulation to the kidneys and providing a good dose of vitamins, especially vitamin K. The addition of avocado gives this soup a creamy, rich texture, and a healthy serving of good fats, aiding in the absorption of nutrients. A drizzling of ghee when serving provides a grounding sattvic quality.
Asparagus has a short season, and it is worth buying the thinner spears rather than the ‘jumbo’ spears whose flavour tends to be disappointingly bland. When buying asparagus, take a careful look at the cut ends to make sure they are not dried out. Avoid cooking in aluminium pans as they can taint the flavour. Once harvested, this vegetable loses it sweetness quickly. So buy locally, as the produce shipped from overseas is disappointing.
simple spring asparagus soup
Once the weather warms up, this soup can be served chilled. Season to taste after it’s completely cool.
Serves 3 – 4
ingredients
500 grams/2 bunches asparagus spears
1 medium fennel bulb
2 Tbsp olive oil/ghee
1 avocado
½ cup fresh dill, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
zest from half a lemon, plus more for garnishing
2 cups boiling water
1 tsp rock salt, more to taste
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
preparation
1. Wash the asparagus, break off and discard the woody ends from the base of the stalks – chop into 1-inch pieces. Remove the tougher outer layer of the fennel, then chop into small pieces.
2. In a medium heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil or ghee, add the chopped fennel and sauté for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the asparagus and sauté until the asparagus is tender.
4. Turn off the heat, allow to sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to a blender with the avocado, dill, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper and boiling water – puree until completely smooth, creamy and velvety.
5. Taste and season with more salt, pepper or lemon, as needed.
Serve immediately, garnished with thin slices of avocado, lemon zest, extra dill, a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper and drizzle with melted ghee.
If not serving immediately, reheat when needed over a low flame.
Goodness shared by Stacey
