I recently tried this recipe from one of my favorite culinary soup sites – Love & Lemons – and I have to say, it is outstanding! Peas, asparagus, pine nuts, and fresh basil provide powerful nutritional value in this delicious asparagus soup recipe. I buy my pine nuts at Costco and keep them in the fridge – much cheaper than buying them in smaller quantities at the grocery store.
Here’s the recipe – when I made it, I omitted the red pepper flakes she recommended – and I’ll also tell you how to modify it if you’re sensitive…
Recipe for creamy asparagus soup
Ingredients
– 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
– 3 spring onions, chopped
– 2 small Yukon gold potatoes, 1½ cups diced
– 3 cloves garlic, minced (use 1/2 tsp garlic powder instead if you are sensitive or omit)
– Heaping ½ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
– ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (omit if you are sensitive or just sprinkle on top)
– 3 cups of water
– 2 cups chopped fresh asparagus
– 1 cup frozen peas
– 1 heaped teaspoon of Dijon mustard
– 3 tablespoons lemon juice (reduce as needed, note that lemons are alkaline once metabolized)
– ½ teaspoon lemon peel
– 1 packed cup fresh basil
Mint and pine nut topping
– ¼ cup toasted pine nuts, chopped
– ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
– Pinch of salt
*This topping TAKES this soup to the next level – DO NOT leave out the topping! And feel free to make more of it so you can charge it properly 🙂
Instructions:
– Prepare the mint pine nut topping by chopping pine nuts, mint and salt together. Set aside.
– Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the green onions and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until softened. Add potatoes, garlic, salt, pepper and water and simmer for 12 minutes until potatoes are tender.
– Add the asparagus to the potato pot and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the peas and then pour the soup into a blender. Add mustard, lemon juice and lemon zest and stir until creamy. Add the basil and stir until well combined. Season to taste.
– Portion the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the mint and pine nut topping, a drizzle of olive oil and a few sprigs of fresh mint if desired.
*If you want your soups to have a little more chew, simply sprinkle a few additional pine nuts on top. Or serve with toasted bread or crackers.
(c) Love and lemons
Do you have a favorite soup recipe? Please share below or post a link to it!
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
