My love affair with asparagus
Shhhh don’t tell Hubby but I’ve fallen in love with fresh farm asparagus. Oh wait – he has too! Guess we have an open marriage when it comes to our vegetables and fruits.
This is the first spring we’ve experienced asparagus outside of the supermarket. I read Animal, Vegetable, Mineral a couple of months ago and when she started talking about getting asparagus right off the side of the road, I couldn’t wait until the season hit!
If you’ve never had it, you should stop reading right now and find the nearest place that offers it. Fresh-picked asparagus is very sweet, even raw, and has no traces of the bitterness that you will always find with supermarket asparagus. We’ve even noticed that the fresh-picked asparagus gets a tiny bit bitter overnight.
We have primarily been enjoying asparagus two ways – simply grilled with olive oil, salt, and pepper (enhances the sweet and just the right mix of crisp and tender in combination with Hubby’s grilling skills), and shaved raw with Parmesan and lemon vinaigrette.
I was inspired by Lynne Goldman, author of Bucks County Taste, and her asparagus soup post. So on this last trip to the farm, I used the asparagus for some soup of my own.
We were fortunate to have a Thai basil plant this year, so I decided to add in some Asian flair. I originally used a 1-inch piece of ginger root, but the short simmering time didn’t really absorb the flavor. Grating the fresh root or using dry will help it shine. The dry mustard (from Penzey’s Spices in Pittsburgh) was the missing element that added a tangy, spicy kick.
Thai Coconut Asparagus Soup
Original Recipe
I don’t know how much this really emanates Thai food, but the flavors do develop really well, particularly after a night in the fridge. Our basil stems are still fairly small so we skimped a little bit. Tastes great reheated or just straight out of the fridge on a hot day! Of course, try to get the farm market asparagus if possible. I think next time I’ll try adding in some lemongrass.
Makes 4 1st course or 2 large main course servings
1 pound asparagus, ends snapped off and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 cups light coconut milk (very rich even with light!)
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp grated fresh ginger, or 1/2 tsp ginger powder
1-2 Thai basil stems
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra scallion slices
Bread
Bring coconut milk and chicken broth to a brisk simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Add the asparagus, ginger, basil stems, and scallion. Simmer the mixture for 15 minutes, or until asparagus is tender but not mushy. Remove from heat and puree with a hand immersion blender (you can pour this into a bowl, my saucepan is stainless steel so I just blend it right in the pot), or in a regular blender. Bring the soup back to a gentle simmer, then stir in the dry mustard, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 3-5 minutes to thicken the soup slightly – it will continue to thicken upon standing. Garnish with scallions and serve with crusty bread.
Filed under Recipe, Savory, Soup | Comments (2)