Rainbow Soup Month: Creamy Asparagus and White Bean Soup

Creamy Asparagus and White Bean Soup by Cathy Elton of What Would Cathy Eat

This delicious green soup was provided to Seriously Soupy by Cathy Elton of What Would Cathy Eat. A fellow-Brooklynite, Cathy created a savory green soup for Rainbow Soup Month. For additional recipes by Cathy - not to mention a place to look at gorgeous food photography, please visit www.whatwouldcathyeat.com.

Guest Post by Cathy Elton

I wanted to make a creamy asparagus soup, but health issues prevent me from using cream. Nonfat Greek yogurt was a great alternative, but wanted to add another layer of flavor, so I tossed in some white beans on a whim. A brilliant idea, if I don’t say so myself! The beans make the soup more substantial, and add fiber and protein – taking this beyond your run-of-the-mill cream of asparagus soup.

Recipe Notes:

• Be sure to use a blender rather than a food processor. You’ll get a much more velvety texture.
• Instead of thyme, you could use another fresh herb. I think tarragon would be particularly nice in this soup.   

 

Creamy Asparagus and White Bean Soup
Ingredients:  

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound asparagus, (tough ends broken off and discarded), cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
5 cups vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can navy or cannellini beans, drained
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch of white pepper (or substitute black pepper)
Salt to taste

Directions:
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy pot or dutch oven. Add the onion and garlic and sautée until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the wine, broth, beans, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Puree in a blender until very smooth. Return to the pot, reheat and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and whisk in the yogurt, followed by the lemon juice.

Serves 3-4 

Lettuce Soup

Lettuce Soup - Seriously Soupy

With the temperatures almost reaching 80 degrees today I was really excited to try out a lighter soup recipe - that was both easy to prepare and quick. Not quite ready for chilled soups, I decided to make a crisp Lettuce Soup after reading various recipes on Epicurious.com, The Nourishing Gourmet, and in this months issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. For my variation, I used a simple combination of onions, garlic, leeks, celery, peas, rosemary, thyme, lemon, and of course a thick head of lettuce to complete this earthy soup. A soup I never tried before, I was pleasantly surprised by its interesting flavors that I found really worked with the subtle use of thyme and rosemary and tart from the lemon. This soup can also easily be varied to include various types of lettuce leaves and herbs as well as the addition of cream or potatoes - depending on your preferences. For With the warmer days ahead, I am definitely inspired to test out and enjoy more soups like this!

Lettuce Soup

Ingredients:
3 cups vegetable stock
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced and chopped
1/2 cup of frozen peas
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, chopped - white part only
1/2 head of lettuce, cut into slices
Bunch of fresh rosemary - about 2-3 sprigs
Bunch of fresh thyme - about 2-3 sprigs
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 lemon, squeezed into the soup
salt and pepper 

Directions:
Drizzle the olive oil into a medium-sized pot. Cut up the leeks, garlic, and onion and let saute. Add the vegetable stock (or water) and let boil. Add the peas, celery, rosemary and thyme and cover. Let cook for 15 minutes. Break apart the lettuce leaves and add them to the pot. Let cook for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and blend. Drizzle with some lemon juice and top with some lettuce leaves for a garnish. Enjoy!

How do you make your lettuce soup?
Seriously Soupy Serena

Garlicky Green Soup

Garlicky Green Soup - Seriously Soupy

Another ode to St. Patrick's Day, this Garlicky Green Soup is essentially just that - tons of garlic and various green vegetables that I blended together.  I cooked a mixture of celery, peas, broccoli, spinach, and green beans with some onions, potatoes, rosemary, thyme and a dollop of Greek yogurt for a healthy rich vegetable mixture. Since I am a die hard garlic fan I was also really excited that I was able to test out a new line of gourmet garlic products called Garlic Gold in this recipe. Essentially chunky garlic nuggets, this organic garlic company features a line of condiments ranging from Italian Herb Nuggets to Parmesan Nuggets, and of course, a great selection of crunchy garlic nuggets. For this super garlicky soup, I used a combination of their Garlic Gold with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and their Garlic Gold Nuggets - resulting in a rich and powerful flavor that worked really well with the earthy combination from the vegetables. This soup can also be easily modified based on the vegetables you have at home and can include a combination of other colors as well, even though, it's pretty hip to be green...

Garlic Gold's Product Line

Garlicky Green Soup
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2-3 cups of water
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1/2 cup of broccoli
2 ribs of celery, chopped up
Bunch of spinach, rinsed
1/4 tablespoon of dried thyme
1/4 tablespoon of dried rosemary
2-3 potatoes, cut up
1/2 cup of green peas
1 tablespoon of Garlic Gold with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 
1/4 tablespoon of Garlic Gold Nuggets
dollop of Greek yogurt (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions:
Add water to a medium-sized pot and let boil on a low heat. Cut up the onions and potatoes and add them to the pot, along with the garlic, rosemary and thyme when the water boils. Cover and let cook for 10-15 minutes. Add in the green vegetables, salt and pepper and cover for another 15 minutes. Blend the mixture and top with yogurt. Enjoy!



Seriously Soupy Serena

Friday Soup Links

 Green Soup created by April Paffrath of Wicked Tasty Harvest

• Cold Carrot Soup with Dill Cream - A fellow Brooklynite - Emily Beebe of the Wooden Spoon - created this tasty looking carrot an dill cream soup. Using petite carrots, dill and yogurt  (and really how could you do any harm with that combo?), Emily create a rather exciting chilled soup. I also can't wait to test out her dill to slab on salads or top onto another soupy creation.
• Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup - Cinnamon Spice created this Thai coconut shrimp soup that she describes as "fast, healthy and completely delicious!" Sounds good to me, especially with its hints of spice and citrus flavors, rice noodles and shrimp. I am also very excited to test out her coconut broth and I'm sure you will too!
• Green Soup - We could all use a little more greens in our life and this concoction created by April Paffrath of Wicked Tasty Harvest makes this conundrum that much easier. Using arugula, the leaves of Swiss chard and beet greens (along with some milk), April created an interesting soup that even her four-year-old went ga ga for. If this soup can get a toddler to have greens (and ask for more), I'm more than game to test this out.

What new soups have you tried this week?
Seriously Soupy Serena