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.

Sauteed Asparagus with Dill

A breezy summer evening.  Grilling in the shady warmth of a patio overflowing with thriving green plants.  The smell of hickory almost hugging you as it bastes your dinner in its aroma.  Fat pieces of chicken sizzling under a thick, red, homemade barbecue sauce, which caramelizes slowly over the heat of the coals.

And inside, the smell of asparagus filling the room as it jumps lightly in the pan, hopping with bursts of heat.  The perfect green complement to the deep red of barbecued chicken and light, summery yellow of roasted corn.  All tasting delightfully of hickory.

My cousin Erin used a simple recipe for this asparagus, and one that can pretty much entirely made to your own taste, so the measurements are not exact.  It's what you want it to be. 

And on top of being delicious, asparagus packs a nice punch of nutrients, being high in magnesium, zinc, and iron.  It's also rich in protein, fiber, and an array of vitamins, including vitamins A, C, E, and K.  It's a wonderful weight-loss food, too, as it's very low in fat.  Can it get any better?

So, enjoy!  Saute up some of this asparagus to go with any meal, and adjust the seasonings to your own taste.  You can't go wrong - I promise.

Sauteed Asparagus with Dill

Trimmed asparagus tops

Olive oil to taste

1 tsp. dill (or to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the asparagus in cool water.  Trim by removing the bottom third of each stalk, which is the toughest part.  If you bend the asparagus, it will break naturally at the point at which it goes from tender to tough.  How convenient!

In a large nonstick pan, heat the olive oil.  Add the asparagus (add only enough at one time to create a single layer) and turn to coat with the oil.  Sprinkle about 1 tsp. of dill and salt and pepper over the entire layer (or more or less depending on your own taste) and continue to saute for another 5 - 10 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender but still slightly crispy.  It should be bright green in color still.  Serve immediately, or if you are serving it later, cover until ready to eat. 

Check out other recipes that use asparagus on Foodista:

Asparagus

Pasta with Garlic Tomatoes and Balsamic-roasted Asparagus

Only because of Soulard Farmer's Market could I have made this big pot of pasta by spending less than $2 for the non-staple ingredients. I love it. I got a huge bundle of asparagus and a small carton of cherry tomatoes, and mix that with a pantry stocked with spices, and it turned into a delicious and filling meal. I don't know why I was in the mood for asparagus, of all things; probably just because I happened to spot it right after I bought the tomatoes and the potential for a nice color contrast struck me all of a sudden. Well, it turned out to be a tasty decision, regardless. The freshness and simplicity bursts out of this dish. And if you didn't want to bother with the pasta or tomatoes, the asparagus by itself would be a tasty side dish with chicken.


Pasta with Garlic Tomatoes and Balsamic-roasted Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus, bottoms chopped off and chopped into1 1/2 inch pieces
4 tbsp. gluten-free balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided
1 carton cherry tomatoes (I think I had about 10 tomatoes), halved
1 1/2 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil flakes
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
1 cup brown rice pasta (or gluten-free pasta of your choice)

Cook pasta as directed. If it gets done before the sauce, drain and cover with cold water to prevent it from becoming gummy. When you are ready to mix the sauce into the pasta, drain again.

Preheat the oven to 450 F and line a baking sheet with foil. Place the chopped asparagus, 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, rosemary, parsley, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a bowl and toss to coat. Place the asparagus on the baking sheet and bake for about 5 - 8 minutes, stirring halfway through and keeping a close eye on it to prevent it from burning. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a sauté pan, melt the 1 1/2 tbsp. of Earth Balance Buttery Spread, and then add the minced garlic. Sauté together for 1 - 2 minutes, and then add the tomatoes and basil flakes. Cover and let heat for about 5 minutes, and then crush the tomatoes a bit with a spoon. Add the 2 remaining tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (more if you want a stronger taste of it), and salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Depending on your own taste, you could also add more rosemary and parsley as well. Continue to cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are falling apart and there is more of a sauce-like consistency. Add the roasted asparagus to the pan and stir, continuing to heat, until the entire mixture is well-coated with sauce and is hot. Add to the pasta and toss to coat.

If your pasta got done early and you were keeping it in cold water, return the pot to the heat just until heated through. If you have a good parmesan cheese substitute, you could serve it with this, but it will taste great on its own, too!