Cold Asparagus Soup with a hint of Dijon

Raw asparagus is something that Dan and I both like. It doesn’t hurt that is also known to inhibit cancer cell growth. In the spring we eat a lot of asparagus. Today we thought it would make a nice soup. As usual we used raw cashews to stand in for the cream. I added a little Dijon for a subtle background flavor. Morels were used for garnish because Dan loves morels, they are a spring fungus and they go well with asparagus. Here is what I did.

Cold Asparagus Soup with a hint of Dijon
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
¼ cup water
½ cup raw cashews
1 cup water, or what is necessary to process the soup
2 pounds asparagus
1 – 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
4 dried morel mushrooms, for garnish
Water to soften the morels
Salt or lemon zest for garnish - optional

Directions:

Sauté the onions and garlic in water until soft and water has mostly evaporated.

While the onions are softening remove the stringy ends from the asparagus and discard. Remove the tips and save for garnish. Cut the remaining asparagus stems thinly and place them in your blender. By cutting the asparagus thinly you should be able to avoid needing to sieve the soup. Add the cooked onions and garlic to the blender with the water, raw cashews and Dijon. Process until smooth. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary. Refrigerate the soup and asparagus tips until serving.

Meanwhile place the morels and a little water in a microwave safe bowl and heat until the water is beginning to simmer. The morels will be soft enough to slice thinly in about 30 minutes, but soaking them longer is also fine. These are used for garnish.

To plate the soup top with reserved asparagus spears, morel slices and finish with a little salt or lemon zest (if desired).

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 133.55
Calories From Fat (36%) - 48.61

Total Fat - 5.86g
Saturated Fat - 1.05g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 172.47mg
Potassium - 604.36mg
Total Carbohydrates - 16.75g
Fiber - 6.03g
Sugar - 6.28g
Protein - 8.04g

Comments:

This is a lovely light soup. Perfect for when the weather is beginning to turn warm are you are thinking of shorts and bathing suits. This soup has a very light flavor, but one that we enjoy. If you wanted to make something bolder I have made it with a touch of horseradish and that was also good, but very different. This soup is also nice with a dollop of tofu sour cream or silken tofu and tahini sauce.

Unrelated note:

When the weather turns warm my cooking tends to become lighter and more raw. In the middle of summer almost everything I make will be chilled. I don’t enjoy hot food very much in the summer time. This year I plan to try to live seasonally by minimizing our use of air conditioning and eating cool and cold food. We will see how long this lasts. I tend to be a bit of creature comfort seeker. But I am determined so we will see how long I make it.

This will be the last post tonight. Time to start winding down for the evening and get my tasks outlined for tomorrow. I will be back as soon as I have time to come up for air. Talk to you all again soon.