Asparagus-Carrot Soup

Do you ever feel that though there is a humungous variety of food in this world, we all fall in a rut and ever so often, can't figure out what to cook? 

Many of us go for our weekly grocery and pick out the same veggies week after week! So for a change, I wanted to do my grocery shopping with a fresh pair of eyes. I saw a bunch of asparagus, which I don't cook often, and in it went in my basket.

My friend Pooja shared this recipe with me. Since then, I use asparagus for a hearty soup. 

Asparagus that we see in the veggie section is the young shoot of the plant. Asparagus is packed with nutrition. It is low in calories and high in fibre. It's also rich in vitamins A, C and K and folates. Though available the whole year round, they're abundant in spring.

How to pick good shoots?

Pick the shoots which are firm, compact and yet tender. They shouldn't be limp. 

The tips should be closed. The spears can be thick or thin. Here, the deciding factor should be the freshness and your requirement. 

For a soup, thick stems should be fine as they give you more goodness per bunch, especially if they are priced per bunch. 

Green Goodness! Pic Credit: Pixabay

How to prep the shoots? 

I wondered how much of the stem to use. If the bottom part looks woody, snap that off. The rest can be used. Research showed that the stem can be lightly peeled too.

Now for the soup.... 

Ingredients:

Asparagus - 250 gms
Carrot -1medium

Onion - 1 medium

Garlic cloves - 4-5

Masoor lentils (washed, soaked for a few minutes)-2 tablespoons

Salt, pepper, lime juice, any other spices that you like!

Way to go:

• Dice asparagus and carrot.
• In a little butter/ oil/ ghee, sauté chopped garlic. After a minute, add onions.
• When the onions are golden brown, add asparagus, water, and salt. 
• If doing in IP, pressure cook for 2 minutes. If in a pressure cooker, cook for 1-2 whistles. 
• I use Blendtec for blending and there's no need to strain. If there's a stray fibre that isn't blended, I just take it our while drinking the soup.
• Add salt, black pepper, and lemon juice.

Asparagus-Carrot Soup Served With Sweet Potato- Beetroot Chips

Tip:

• I also added jiravan - a kind of Indori chaat masala. You can add regular chaat masala. I like to play with spices to make things more interesting for my daughter. The first time around, she didn't like the soup. Hence, I added some spices this time. She said that she wouldn't mind drinking it again. It was a victory of sorts :)
• You can make this soup with just asparagus. It tastes delicious that way too but I liked it with a carrot.