Cream-less Asparagus Soup

It's the "green" time of year for many Irish people and those who just want a reason to drink green beer. Me? I could be considered Irish all year round with all of the green food I eat on a daily basis.  St. Patrick's Day also means the heralding of spring in my mind, though in Duluth that just means we won't endure too many more days of subzero weather or 8" of snow.  (I woke up on Wednesday morning of this week to 4" of fresh snow in our yard.  Enough already!!)   

So, as I was saying, spring...which means asparagus to me.  Though I know I have a few other asparagus soup recipes on this blog, that doesn't stop me from trying a new one to share with you. 

This recipe is an adaptation of one I found at Martha Stewart's site.  The original used olive oil to saute the vegetables as well as more for drizzling into the soup as it was pureed for a whopping total of 1/4 cup.  I easily substituted coconut oil and used only 2 Tablespoons of it.  I also omitted the water that was added to the chicken broth and thought it was still just a bit on the thin side, so you might want to reduce the chicken broth slightly if you like a thicker consistency.  But it's the crushed red pepper flakes that really makes the wonderful clean flavor of the asparagus stand out.
Lucky Leprechaun Pzazz! 


Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 large shallot, thinly sliced lengthwise
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
dash of salt
1# fresh asparagus, woody stems removed, chopped into 1" slices, with a few tips reserved for   garnish
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves

Preparation:
Heat coconut oil on medium heat.  Add shallot, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are tender and just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add chopped asparagus and cook for one minute. Stir in broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Continue to cook until asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes. Add spinach leaves and cook just until wilted. Puree with an immersion blender.  Now wasn't that easy!!

If you saved some asparagus tips to garnish the soup, boil them just briefly, then place in a ice-water bath to stop the cooking, then drain. This will soften them, but depending on the consistency of the soft or pureed food you need, you may need to omit this for yourself. But you might enjoy the visual appeal it adds. Yet, if you are just going to toss them anyway, its not worth the bother, unless you are also serving this delicious soup to guests and want to wow them a bit. I originally saved quite a few (as you see in the photo), but then added most of them to the soup to puree instead because I thought that soup was a bit thin.  

Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 5
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 83
Total Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 494 mg
Total Carbs: 6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 4 g

Lemon Asparagus Soup

I found this recipe at  Eating Well.com. The original title was "Garden-Fresh Asparagus Soup", but since our vegetable garden was still covered with snow the day I made it, I couldn't use any "garden fresh" ingredients, so I renamed it Lemon Asparagus Soup. 

The modifications I made to fit my dietary needs were to use 3 Tablespoons coconut oil rather than 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 2 Tablespoons butter.  I also used non-fat Greek yogurt rather than sour cream for the garnish. The nutritional analysis reflects the changes I made.  

I was a bit skeptical about adding the juice of one whole lemon to the yogurt for the garnish, but was pleasantly surprised at the lively Pzazz this gave to the soup. 

The smell of the red potatoes simmering in onions and lemon zest with just a bit of curry and ginger was intoxicating.  (It makes me want to create a lemon-potato soup.) Then the addition of coconut milk made it exquisitely creamy.  It was even more appealing because of how simple and quick it was to prepare.  Spring Pzazz without spring!

Ingredients:

Simmering soup

3 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Zest and juice of one lemon, divided
2 cups diced, peeled red potatoes
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup "lite" coconut milk
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces trimmed asparagus (about 1 bunch)
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup Greek non-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup finely chopped scallion greens, or chives

Preparation:
1.  Melt oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 5 - 10 minutes.  Stir in curry powder, ginger, lemon zest and potatoes and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Stir in broth, coconut milk and asparagus.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat, partially cover, and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
2.  Puree the soup with an immersion blender or a regular blender (in batches) until smooth.  (Use caution when pureeing hot soups.)  Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.
3.  Whisk yogurt, lemon juice and scallion greens (or chives) in a small bowl and garnish the soup with a swirl of it.  Or for one serving I just swirled the yogurt/lemon mixture into the soup and garnished with a tip of asparagus.
This soup can be served either warm or chilled.

Nutrition Per Serving:                                        

Servings per recipe: 6

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 138                                  
Total Fat: 9 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 489 mg
Total Carbs: 12 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein:  3 g

Asparagus Zucchini Soup

ARGGG!   In Duluth today, we had 60 mph gusts of wind in Canal Park  prior to the arrival of nearly 6" of snow. Yes, snow!  After a treacherous drive up the steep hills of Duluth where I witnessed and avoided numerous cars sliding backwards down the hill, I breathed a sigh of relief as I pulled into the garage. Then I tromped through the snowdrifts to the door, and took off my parka, (who needs a parka on April 11???) and snuggled up in a warm blanket in my big chair that I had turned last week to face the spring sunlight.  As I stared out the window at the white-out created by the frenzied snow, I wondered:  Where is spring?   Where is the sunshine?   Is it anywhere in sight?   After I comforted myself by reading a novel for awhile, I decided I needed to declare spring in some small way.   Asparagus sings spring to me, so I had purchased some last week and have made this soup about 4 times since then, varying what fresh herb I put in it.  Today definitely needed a soulful dose of hope.  Asparagus soup.   Hopeful Pzazz.    


Ingredients:
2 tsp coconut oil
4 scallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small zucchini, chopped  (about 1 cup chopped)
about 8 stalks asparagus, chopped (creates about 1/2 cup chopped stems and 1/4 cup chopped tips)
about 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or other fresh herbs of choice)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Simmering the asparagus and zucchini 

Preparation:
Saute scallions and garlic in coconut oil.  Add chopped zucchini and thicker parts of the chopped asparagus stalks. (Save the tips and more tender pieces to add after the zucchini and thicker pieces of the asparagus are nearly tender.)  Add the asparagus tips and saute a couple of minutes more. Add the chopped parsley or other fresh herbs you like. Add the broth and simmer on medium heat until the vegetables are tender. Puree to desired consistency.  I put the soup into a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup and pureed it with my immersion blender stick.


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: 1 1/2 cup
Calories: 188
Total Fat: 10 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 92 mg
Total Carbs: 21 g
Dietary Fiber: 8 g
Protein: 8 g

Cold Asparagus Soup

Nothing says spring to me more than asparagus.   Green, glorious, green.  Fresh, vibrant, and lively.  Yes, that describes this soup, too.  It's an adaptation of one from Anna Thomas' cookbook, Love Soup.  And I do indeed love this soup.  The original recipe used heavy cream, for which I substituted fat-free half-n-half.  It also used full-fat goat cheese, and I used fat-free feta cheese.  And I used coconut oil rather than olive oil.  And I omitted the cayenne pepper that was used in the original recipe.  I wanted the fresh dill taste to stand alone with the asparagus, which it did quite well.  Savor the fresh taste of spring!  


Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. fresh untrimmed asparagus
3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
3 Tablespoons fat-free half-n-half
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 oz. reduced-fat Feta cheese
1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil (or 1 Tablespoon olive oil)
sea salt to taste
freshly ground white pepper to taste


Optional Garnishes:
fresh sprigs of dill
Greek yogurt


Preparation:
Break off and discard the tough bottoms of the asparagus stalks, then thinly peel the lower parts of the remaining stalks. You want as few of the strings as possible.  Cut the asparagus in pieces and simmer it in the vegetable broth until it is tender, about 10 minutes.  Allow the mixture to cool.  Combine all the ingredients and puree them in a VitaMix or similar blender.  The VitaMix did an extraordinarily good job of pureeing any asparagus strings that remained.  


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 5
Serving Size: Just a bit over 1 cup
Calories: 84
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 4  mg
Sodium: 21   mg
Total Carbs: 8 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 7

Asparagus-Zucchini-Spinach Puree

As a spread on a sandwich 

The New Scenic Cafe north of Duluth wowed me once again on Tuesday!  Not only do they cheerfully accommodate my need for pureed food, but the chef willingly shares the approximate measurements of the ingredients he uses to make the new creation so that I can try to replicate it. He views it as a fun challenge, using whatever ingredients he has available.  He pureed asparagus, zucchini and spinach together with shallots and garlic to create a thin spread to put on shredded roasted chicken atop a toasted baguette.  Using the information he provided, today I made a puree that tasted quite close to what he had made.  I made a much larger batch than he did, so that I can have more another day.  This puree could be used in a variety of ways - as a spread on a sandwich, as a sauce for pasta, or thinned with broth to make a soup.  The possibilities are as vast as your Pzazz. 

Making this puree was doubly fun today.  First, because my friend was here to join me.  Second, because she brought her VitaMix for me to try.  I was skeptical that it couldn't do anything that the appliances I already have couldn't do.  Well, I was wrong. WOWZA!  It was fast, it was quiet, it was efficient pulverizing the vegetables to the desired consistency, and it was easy to clean.   Tom had purchased one for me at Sam's Club a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn't even taken it out of the box yet, thinking it was incredibly indulgent to buy it and had planned to return it. My friend offered to let me try hers before I returned mine.  Hmmmmm.... our 30 year old food processor has only one feature that still works and our blender needs more liquid than desirable to easily make spreads or pureed dips, limiting how I can use it.  Hmmmmmmm....pureed food is my required diet.  Time to rethink my initial decision.  Sam (our 18 year old son) does love to make fruit smoothies in the summer and neither our blender or food processor can chop ice.  So I wouldn't be entirely selfish, would I?   


Ingredients:
1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil (or olive oil)

As a soup

4 Tablespoons chopped shallot                    
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 cup chopped asparagus
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 1/3 cup fresh spinach
1/2  Tablespoon coconut oil (or olive oil)
Sea salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:
Heat the 1/2 tablespoon of oil over medium heat and saute the shallot, garlic, asparagus and zucchini until tender.  Put it all in the VitaMix and add the fresh spinach and remaining oil and be amazed as you watch it turn a vibrant, silky green!

Nutrition:  (using coconut oil rather than olive oil)
Servings per recipe: 3
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Calories: 84
Total Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 17 mg
Total Carbs: 10 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 3 g