Recipe: Rich, Healthy Asparagus Soup

I just discovered how easy and quick this delicious, decadent soup is if you find yourself with a large amount of asparagus. (I always buy the 2 lb bag of asparagus at Sam’s Club.) And it is SO healthy. I just love it!

Here’s a recipe video if you like the full, visual explanation:

Ingredients:

-2 lbs fresh asparagus
-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-3 cups reduced-sodium
-1 can (13.5 oz) reduced-fat coconut milk
-1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
-1/4 teaspoon white pepper, or black pepper

Directions:

1.  Break off or cut the thick, woody ends of the asparagus. Then, cut asparagus spears into thirds.

2. Heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Once shimmery/ hot, add the asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the garlic and cook another minute, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the broth, enough to just cover all of the asparagus. Once it is starting to boil, lower the head to medium-low and cover. Let cook for 10 minutes, or until asparagus is very tender.

5. Either add to a blender or use a hand-held emulsifier and blend until pureed.

6. Add back to the stove and add the coconut milk. Cook for another 5 minutes, or longer if you want it thicker, on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

7. Season with pepper and any extra salt you may need. Then, it is ready to serve!

You may top it off with seared asparagus or seared mushrooms, or anything else you fancy. Though,  it doesn’t need a thing!

 

Rich, Healthy, Asparagus Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs fresh asparagus
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced or 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or veggie broth to keep it vegan
  • 1 can 13.5 oz reduced fat coconut milk
  • 1 tsp salt, or more to taste
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper or black pepper if you don't have it

Instructions
 

  • Break off or cut the thick, woody ends of the asparagus. Then, cut asparagus spears into thirds.
  • Heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Once shimmery/ hot, add the asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the garlic and cook another minute, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the broth, enough to just cover all of the asparagus. Once it is starting to boil, lower the head to medium-low and cover. Let cook for 10 minutes, or until asparagus is very tender.
  • Either add to a blender or use a hand-held emulsifier and blend until pureed.
  • Add back to the stove and add the coconut milk. Cook for another 5 minutes, or longer if you want it thicker, on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
  • Season with pepper and any extra salt you may need. Then, it is ready to serve!
Keyword healthy, recipe, soup, asparagus, asparagus soup, amy westerman,

Food Review: Newfangled Love Kitchen in NLR

Newfangled Love Kitchen is a brand new restaurant that opened up next door to North Bar on JFK Blvd. in North Little Rock. It is owned by the same people that own North Bar and Lakewood Fish and Seafood Lounge. Pretty much,  these people are running all of the local restaurants in NLR these days.

The thing that makes this restaurant stand out is its menu:

       

The menu features mostly breakfast/ brunch items, along with a few burgers.  This is great for people like me that love breakfast for lunch and dinner, because they serve these dishes all day.
More importantly, there is a large selection of gluten free options and vegan options.

I decided on the gluten free eggs benedict.

This dish replaces the typical english muffin with a hash brown cake. I am not gluten-free, personally, but I love hash browns! These were crispy and mixed well with my pan seared ham, perfectly poached eggs, and the large amount of tangy, rich hollandaise sauce. I thought it was delicious! Plus, it was only $10. I’d definitely get this again.

My friend ordered the Kung Pao steak salad, which I also had my eye on.

At $12, she got a pretty large salad with a good amount of medium-rare (as she requested) ribeye. However, there wasn’t much seasoning on it and there was no spice whatsoever in the salad nor the dressing. She ate it, but would not order this again. It needs some heat and more flavor to be considered “Kung Pao”

Overall, everything ran very smoothly for a restaurant that opened officially about a week ago. The service was good, the food took about 20 minutes to get once ordered, and our waters were refilled in a timely fashion.

There are many other menu items I’d like to try, so I’ll definitely be giving this place another try soon.