Asparagus has such a unique flavor and appearance. These spiky green shoots are gladly welcomed in spring, when we’re anxious for farm fresh produce. Did you know it’s part of the lily family? …And that they can grow up to a foot in a single day if cared for properly? Just a little asparagus trivia for your reading pleasure.
Asparagus are lovely roasted, grilled, steamed and sauteed, but what l really crave is creamy asparagus soup!
Not “Cream Of”, mind you. This creamy soup is completely guilt free! I offer you another Slow Carb Recipe that fits into The 4 Hour Body Diet, intended to delight your taste buds and your waistline.
These striking dishes are from Villeroy & Boch.
The secret is in the beans. *smile*
I pureed white beans into a simmering pot of asparagus as a thickener. Not only do beans add extra protein, but they provide a lovely smooth texture. Right at the end, a dollop of Greek yogurt blended in, gives the sense of creamy indulgence without the fat and calories. It’s a beautiful thing!
The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~Hanna Rion
To Prepare:
Cut the tops off the asparagus and reserve for garnish. Cut the rough ends off the bottom.
Chop the rest into short segments and add to the pot.
Sauté for another 3-5 minutes–until it is bright in color and tender.
Add the beans, stock and cayenne to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered.
Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add the yogurt and puree again. Salt and pepper to taste, and add a squeeze of lemon.
Place a small skillet over medium heat. Brown the bacon; then add the asparagus tops to the bacon. Sauté for 1-2 minutes. Drain and garnish the soup with the bacon and tops.
Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset.
Recipe: Light and Creamy Asparagus Soup
~A Slow Carb Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tb. Macadamia Nut Oil (or butter)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 lbs. asparagus (2 bunches)
- 6 cups chicken stocks
- 14 oz. can white beans, drained
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1-3 pinches of cayenne
- 1 lemon
- 3-4 slices of bacon, chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot, warm the oil/butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Cut the tops off and reserve for garnish. Cut the rough ends off the bottom.
- Chop the rest of the asparagus into short segments and add to the pot.
- Sauté for another 3-5 minutes–until the asparagus in bright in color and tender. Add the beans, stock and cayenne to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add the yogurt and puree again.
- Salt and pepper to taste, and add a squeeze of lemon.
- Place a small skillet over medium heat. Brown the bacon; then add the asparagus tops to the bacon. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Drain and garnish the soup with the bacon and asparagus.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 25 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4-6
Thanks friends for your enthusiasm about the Lensi Pasta Giveaway. A winner has been selected:
True Random Number Generator, Result: 107, Powered by RANDOM.ORG
Number 107 is Rachel from A Southern Fairytale. Congratulations Rachel!
I can’t wait for the farmer’s market to open to get some local ones. I might go with sauteed with a little oil, lemon and sesame seeds first but your soup looks yummy.
It’s the second time this week that I hear about the trick to use pureed beans to add creaminess. Something I’m going to have to try.
I love asparagus, and your soup looks amazing! I love that there is no cream.
(And I had no idea that asparagus can grow an entire foot in one day! Cool!)
What an absolutely delicious soup! Gorgeous.
Your asparagus soup looks amazingly creamy and I love the idea of using white beans, perfectly light and healthy!
I just made asparagus soup two days ago. I always roast mine in the oven. Great idea with the addition of the beans. I have to try that next time.
Thanks for the asparagus lesson, Sommer. I definitely will be trying this one with the white beans for the creaminess. Congratulations to the pasta winner, Rachel! I’m holding out for the next giveaway and for sure will be voting for your team’s Krispie presentation. You da best.
This recipe came just in time for me. I’m doing the P90X workouts and meal plan which call for a lot of soups. Asparagus is one of them but their recipe is not nearly as appetizing as yours. I’m stumbling it for future reference.
Beautiful soup and excellent presentation/photography. Love the garnish!
The rain is back again …. I too was making asparagus soup when we had our last rains … maybe it’s that time again … I’ve never tried adding beans to asparagus soup (I do add butter beans to veteatable soup) so I’d love to give this a try. Great photos!
I have seen zilch in the way of asparagus this year in the grocery stores. In my mind asparagus is one of the sure signs of spring. Your soup sounds wonderful.
great idea to use beans to thicken the soup, thanks for sharing!!
sweetlife
Gorgeous! Asparagus is one of my favorite veggies. Love the color and how it looks in the crisp white bowls, plus bacon on top is always good. This recipe is further proof as to why I need an immersion blender!
I love this! The perfect spring soup…and everything’s better with a little bacon
I cannot wait to buy some asparagus and give this a try. It looks wonderful.
Beautiful soup! I love asperagus and have considered growing it. I know you don’t get a harvest the first year but never knew it was from the lilly family or that it would grow that much in one day! Amazing. The bowls are terrific too
This looks like the perfect spring soup. I love the bacon garnish….yum!
Asparagus are in season and I can’t wait to try this!! Looks fabulous!!
This soup looks amazing! The picturesa are gorgeous and your pot matches the soup!!! Really nice presentation.
that is just plain old gorgeous, I bet fragrant and the color – fab
This looks AMAZING! Next time I buy bacon, I’m going to make this!!
Yum! This looks so wonderful and delicious!
Looks amazing!
I love asparagus, esp. the green one. This soup is exactly the one for me
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That looks good and healthy.
A lovely spring soup!! My favorite vegetable I look forward to in spring is peas! The frozen ones are pretty good year round, but the availability of fresh peas in spring just puts a huge smile on my face
Oooh, nice going with the beans to thicken the soup! It looks so creamy and delicious.
lovely presentation and colour
I can’t wait to make this…looks so good!
Guilty free and creamy is awesooooooome, Loved the way it looks too.
The soup looks amazing!
Looks delish. I’ve been making asparagus in the toaster. http://rfoster-faith.livejournal.com/38726.html
Didn’t know asparagus is cousin to the lily, but it does shout “SPRING!!” doesn’t it?
Love that this is cream free but looks so luscious and velvety. The bacon and macadamia nut oil are lovely touches too!
Ohhh. This soup looks delicious. I love asparagus. We are attempting to grow asparagus but haven’t had much luck. I bought six more plants recently in hopes that at least one plant will be productive. Wish me luck!
I love asparagus, so much that it’s probably my favorite vegetable. But can you believe I’ve never had asparagus soup…I must try this!
We made Cream of Asparagus soup in my first semester in culinary school – the recipe was just awful though. This looks so velvety. I’m going to have to give it a try because I love asparagus. And it’s got bacon!
This looks delicious! I am a huge asparagus fan. And I would never have thought to use beans as a thickening agent…genius!
A beautiful spring soup, I love that’s it’s cream free too!
I love your “secret” creamy, thickener! and I have used that method in the past – no one can tell! Beautiful color to the soup and a perfect Spring soup!
Gorgeous soup. I love the first asparagus of the season;-)
First of all.. yummers, secondly.. love the burlap prop and the dishes.. SWOON! Is that little bits of bacon I see?
Have never used Asparagus in soups. The soup look so creamy and refreshing, Sommer.
I’ve used this secret creamy ingredient in my soups – works wonderfully! The sprinkle of bacon is a nice touch as is the macadamia nut oil, yum!
I just made this for lunch and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe and such beautiful pictures!
I love the colour of this soup. It looks delicious and healthy!
Thank you for not making another “Cream of” soup! This is a perfect start for spring which does not last too long in the South! It is crazy that they can grow a foot in a day!
there are 4 asparagus in our fridge right now…the first little crop of the season! before much longer though, there will be a glut, and I am thrilled to get and bookmark this recipe for when that time comes. MANY thanks, Spicy!!
Gorgeous soup, Sommer. I’d die for a bowl for brunch today!
My favorite soup. I usually don’t cream it up but I love your alternative of adding greek yogurt. I’ll try this next time
This soup looks absolutely fantastic Sommer. I wish I had a sip.
I love asparagus soup and I always try to cut back on the cals by using milk instead of cream, but now I am going to try out your method with the yogurt and the beans… great ideas!
I have been buying and making a bunch of recipes with this awesome veggie, which really lends itself very well to Indian cooking too – I will certainly add this soup to my repertoire with Asparagus.
Thanks for sharing
hey, Spicy, just nominated you for Best Cooking Blog over on http://www.saveur.com/2011-best-food-blog-nominations.jsp. Hope others join me in this!
thanks for all you do!!
This soup look so creamy and delicious, Sommer. Beautiful Recipe !
Have a wonderful day!
Aldy.
Beautiful Sommer!
Wow! I love asparagus and your soup, without cream (I’m allergic) is going right to my “carnet de recettes” (recipe book) Thanks!!
This soup looks perfect for the spring or summer
What a perfectly beautiful soup recipe!
This is a wonderful light and fresh soup for Spring. I love it!
fantastic photos! May is asparagus month over at our Seasonal Potluck. If you’d like to link your asparagus recipe to ours, we’d love to have you!
http://bit.ly/eLlgG2
Thx for a great recipe. I made it a couple weeks ago and it was perfect!!!
Looks wonderful. I wonder if the outcome would be very different if you used white asparagus instead.
Hey again! Just wanted to let you know that I posted about your recipe today on my blog and linked back to you. Thanks again–it was incredible.
http://jennaseverythingblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/light-and-creamy-asparagus-soup/
I love this recipe! Such a wonderful idea to puree some beans and use that as a thickener. I can’t wait to make this with all the gorgeous asparagus I’ve been seeing in the Paris markets recently!
this looks amazing and delicious Sommer!
Thanks for joining #Soupapalooza!
All soup, creamy or cream or otherwise, is guilt-free for me, whether or not I choose to eat it, as long as the ingredients are produced ethically. It’s not a moral issue. But I really do love asparagus in soups, and crave good recipes for it.