Nutritious Asparagus Soup with Lemon Sauteed Tips

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It is still cold and windy outside. Yesterday curled up on the couch after dropping my little one to the school, reassuring myself that its just the last phase of the unfavorable weather and started watching Television. I couldn't resist making myself a  bowl of good soup to rejuvenate my tired soul after having four rounds to the school of my little one. This is when I thought of putting to use a bunch of Asparagus I had picked up from supermarket a day before.

Asparagus is full of nutrients and minerals - Vitamin A, C, K, folic acid, potassium. A wide array of dishes can be cooked with this simple yet most detoxifying and anti  aging vegetable on the planet. It can be enjoyed as raw or added to the pot of mixed vegetables and at times makes a nutritious pizza topping. I like it in all forms but the most delightful way is to have it as a warm bowl of soup.

I borrowed a part of my recipe from the marthastewart.com. My recipe is never complete till I add some ingredients and delete few to please the taste buds of my family. So here I added almost all the greens I had at home - fresh spinach leaves, sweet peas, green onions and some moong (green lentil) bean sprouts as well.
Here is a quick recipe for the soup with fresh asparagus. An ultimate refreshing and healthy soup.... !


Ingredients:
Asparagus: 1 bunch
Spinach : 1/4 cup
Peas: a small handful
Green onion: 1
Garlic : 1/4tsp, grated
Heavy Cream: 1/4 cup (or add yogurt )
Milk: 1/4 cup
Salt/Pepper : to taste
Butter: 1 tsp
Water: 1 cup
Zest of Lemon
Moong bean sprouts: few, gently sauteed for garnishing


Method:
Cut the tips of the asparagus and save the tips to be sauteed later.*
Cut the rest of the asparagus stalk into 1'' pieces.
Remove hard ends.

Melt a teaspoon of butter in a saucepan and saute chopped onion, garlic, spinach and the stems of asparagus.
Add some water and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes till the stems are tender.

Let it cool and blend in a mixer to make smooth puree.

Boil hard-ends in a separate container for 10-15 mins to extract flavor.

We will mix it with the puree now to enhance its flavor.

Heat the puree again, add salt, pepper and heavy cream to taste.
Adjust the thickness of the soup to taste by adding milk.
Garnish with spoonful of moong bean (green lentil) sprouts for more healthy crunch.
Inviting and vibrant creamy soup is ready.
Enjoy hot with garlic bread.

Lemon Sauteed Asparagus Tips:
Wash the tips of the asparagus thoroughly in warm water.

Saute the tips of asparagus in olive oil.
Add the zest of lemon and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add a pinch of Garam Masala & squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top.
Toss for few minutes in the frying pan & garnish with parmesan cheese.

My family simply loved this combo, So let me know how you like it ... !

Sharing this recipe with Simple Lives Thursday 35thEdition

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