free of gluten and top 9 allergens<\/p><\/div>\n

There’s nothing like fresh asparagus in the spring. We couldn’t let the season end without a creamy asparagus soup. This classic French soup is simple and made without heavy cream, yet still tastes as comforting and delicious as ever.<\/p>\n

Snuggle up with the best asparagus soup. I know it’s hard to label any dish as the best when taste is subjective, but it’s definitely one of our favorites.<\/p>\n

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Steam or Roast the Asparagus?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We like steaming asparagus versus roasting for soup. However, if you’re having a special dinner and want to take this soup up a notch by adding an additional layer of asparagus, roast some for garnish.<\/p>\n

To steam,<\/em> cut the dry woody ends off of the\u00a0asparagus, discarding or reserving for making stock. If the spears are thick, peel the bottom halves lightly with a vegetable peeler. Bring a large saucepan with about 2 inches of water to a boil over high heat. Place asparagus in a steamer basket and set in the pot of boiling water. Cover and reduce heat to medium.\u00a0Steam\u00a0for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the\u00a0asparagus, or until\u00a0asparagus\u00a0is crisp tender. Transfer the asparagus to an ice bath (bowl with ice and water) to stop the cooking process. When chilled, drain and set asparagus aside.<\/p>\n

To roast,<\/em> preheat oven to 400\u00baF and place asparagus on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and roast for 5-10 minutes until the asparagus is crisp tender. Remove from oven and set aside.<\/p>\n

Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n

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• Saut\u00e9 onions in vegan butter and vegetable oil for 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.<\/li>\n
• Stir in garbanzo bean flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in rice milk. When thickened, add veggie broth and simmer for 10 minutes.<\/li>\n
• Add additional veggie broth and steamed asparagus. Simmer for 5 minutes.<\/li>\n
• Transfer the soup in batches to a high speed blender. Blend each batch until smooth, about 20 seconds. Return soup to saucepan over medium heat. Add mustard, thyme, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; simmer for 2 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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  Serve with alternative sour cream, chives, and\/or our bistro croutons.<\/p>\n

  This is one time we prefer to puree soup in a high speed blender rather than using an immersion blender, as asparagus can be very fibrous. The second batch of soup we made is pictured above with the croutons. We blended this batch for 30 seconds in our Vitamix. The first batch pictured at the beginning of the post was a half batch that was blended for the same time in a Blendtec. You can see the first batch is not as smooth…but that’s okay. It’s equally as good.<\/p>\n

  Chef Joel’s Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Lemon thyme and common thyme look almost exactly alike. We have lemon thyme growing in the garden. However, it can be a challenge to find in the market. The 2 teaspoons of lemon thyme in this recipe can be replaced with 2 teaspoons of common thyme plus 1\/2 teaspoon of lemon zest.<\/li>\n
  • Skimming off the scum and fat that often accumulates on the surface of soups and stocks is important to create a clean soup or stock. Skim with a mesh sieve or small ladle. If using a ladle, be careful not to remove too much of the liquid.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n