Asparagus Soup

It is the season for British grown asparagus - yay! It's taken a while for me to think of asparagus as a yummy food, but I'm there now. Last year, over the short asparagus season, I grew to like these delicious green spears and just over a year ago today, I posted my recipe for asparagus and garden pea risotto. I've never tried to grow asparagus as it's a labour intensive crop and its two years before you can start picking it! I'm way too impatient for that, but maybe one day.......

Asparagus is pretty good for you too, it's brimming with antioxidents, which help prevent cell damage, and those green spears also provide anti-inflammatory nutrients.

I decided to make soup with the bunch of asparagus I had treated myself too at the weekend, this recipe is super quick and super easy, you just have to give it a go. I could eat this for lunch every day throughout its short growing season.

Ingredients

Splash of olive oil   
1 bunch of spring onions
1 bunch asparagus1 Tsp bouillon powder
200ml Hot water
25g Cashews
Salt & Pepper to taste
Sprinkle of hemp seed (optional)

Method

First slice the spring onions and add to a pan with the olive oil and sauté for 1 minute.

Break off the woody ends of the asparagus stems and chop the remainder of the stem into 4-5 pieces. Add to the pan and continue to sauté for another 3 minutes.

Sprinkle the bouillon powder over the vegetables and add a splash of water to stop everything sticking to the bottom of the pan. Sauté for another minute.

You haven't over cooked the vegetables, they will still have a little bite. Put 6 spear tops to one side then add the mixture to a powerful blender (I used my Vitamix) and top with the hot water and the cashews. Please note if you haven't got a powerful blender soak your cashews in water for 1-2 hours so your machine can handle them.

Blend until you have a smooth and creamy liquid. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to your taste preference, it won't need an awful lot as its pretty darn tasty as it is.

Serve straight away, using the saved asparagus tips as a garnish. Try sprinkling on a little hemp seed too.

Jasmine x