Sunday, February 6, 2011

Creamy Asparagus Soup with Coconut Milk


  
Well, if you're like me, you ate way too many double chocolate espresso cookies in the last week.  Like, way too many.  And then, maybe you made a chocolate cake with coconut samoa icing to bring to a party on Friday (recipe for the icing forthcoming!).  And then maybe you had a huge helping of brioche french toast for breakfast on Saturday morning.  Maybe by Saturday night, your body had had it.

This is a soup for a detox day.  When your body is screaming for some nutritious goodness.  When all it wants is a damn vegetable, for Pete's sake.

This soup is so simple to make, and I suspect you could substitute a variety of other vegetables for the asparagus, if you don't have any of that on hand.  Or, you know, if you hate asparagus.  Try it with broccoli, or cauliflower, for instance.  I bet it would be fantastic.  Just a warning - this is a batch for a girl living alone and makes only about two cups of soup overall.  If you're cooking for several people, or if you want to have a bunch leftover, consider doubling or even tripling the recipe.

I owe the creamy texture of this to my aunt, who introduced me recently to So Delicious Coconut Milk, a lower calorie option to regular canned coconut milk.  It doesn't have a super strong coconut flavor in my opinion, and that makes it quite ideal for making creamy soups like this one without detracting from the flavor of the other ingredients.  I used So Delicious Original, which has only 80 calories per cup (and I only used one cup in the whole recipe!), but the So Delicious Unsweetened only has 50 calories, for those of you who want to trim even a few more calories off of this recipe.  Compare that to regular coconut milk, which can have - gasp - 480 calories per cup, or even lite coconut milk, with 180 calories per cup.  Not that I don't love to use regular coconut milk in my Thai curries, but it's not the most detox-friendly option.

You can feel good about eating this soup, is what I'm saying.  Your body will thank you.


Creamy Asparagus Soup with Coconut Milk
Serves 2

1 1/2 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1 medium onion
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 1/2 cups chopped asparagus (about 350 grams, or 3/4 lb.), with ends trimmed off
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/8 tsp. dried rosemary
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley + more for garnish
1 cup So Delicious Original Coconut Milk (or another creamy non-dairy milk)
1/2 tsp. salt + more to taste
Pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, melt the Earth Balance Buttery Spread.  Add the onion, ginger, and garlic and saute over medium-low heat for about 4 - 6 minutes, or until the onion starts to become translucent.

Clean and trim the asparagus and chop into small pieces (about 1 inch long).  When the onion is translucent, add the chopped asparagus and vegetable or chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Add the dried rosemary and fresh parsley, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the asparagus pieces are very tender.

Using either an immersion blender or food processor, puree the soup until very smooth.  Return to the pot and add the So Delicious Coconut Milk and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately or chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving.  Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and drizzle with a little extra coconut milk before serving.




6 comments:

Gail for So Delicious Dairy Free said...

Wow! First you posted those scrumptious Samoa Girl Scout Cookies, and now this incredible-looking Creamy Asparagus And Coconut Milk Soup! We can't wait to try making this recipe with vegetable stock, and we really love your culinary creativity! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Just a heads up: I do not recommend that you use low calorie coconut milk. The coconut consists of medium triglycerides, which is absorbed immediately by the liver and turned into energy - it does not stick to your body like polyunsaturates as fat! In fact, coconut is the only food I know of, which raises thermogenesis, i. e your body temperature = metabolism. It helps you lose weight! If you use low-calorie coconut milk you also don't get the full benefits of lauric acid, which contains anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal abilities. Coconut fat is good fat! Buy normal organic coconut milk, in cartons if possible, otherwise canned will do. Or Google "how to make your own coconut milk".

Anonymous said...

Hi, I just made this soup with full fat cocnut milk and my husband and i loved it...next time I am going to add a little lemon juice at the end..I think it will enhance the flavor...I didn't have parseley and it was great without it..thanks for the recipe!

Pusat Bio Septic Tank said...

terimakasih banyak sudah berbagi, semoga saya bisa terus berkunjung ke website ini untuk membaca

beberapa artikel lainnya.

Harga Septic Tank Biotech

Unknown said...

Creamy soup wow it is mouthwatering Filesidaly

Sophie Grace said...

Amazing post here.I read this post first time to know the structure of the post and second time to know the knowledge about it. Let become a spellcaster in game sims 4 cheats