When my husband and I are trying to lose weight, we make roasted vegetable soups. They are loaded with healthy vegetables, easy to prepare, and can be made in large batches. Recently, I created this roasted asparagus soup seasoned with lemon juice and roasted garlic. The process of making roasted vegetable soup is simple, I roast the vegetables in the oven with butter, olive oil, salt and pepper. Once the vegetables are soft, I place them in a blender with some chicken stock and liquify. Then I simmer the soup and add more stock until the soup reaches the consistency I desire. We use this soup making method for roasted tomato soup, carrot and parsnip soup, and butternut squash and apple soup.
Asparagus is loaded with fiber, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. It's also low in calories. In fact, this soup is so low in calories that you should probably serve something a little heartier on the side. This soup has just 165 calories per serving, 11.5 grams of fat, 5.9 grams of fiber, and 6.6 grams of protein. It's recipe that is completely paleo - meaning that is cuts out carbs, sugar, and dairy (other than butter).
I would like to point out that I don't have a super powerful blender, but my standard blender handled the job very well. It is important to roast the asparagus until it is very soft, otherwise it might be stringy and might not blend well.
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of Asparagus
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons Butter
- 2 small Lemons
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- 4-5 cups of Chicken Stock
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Rinse the asparagus and chop off the ends. Then lay the asparagus out on a baking sheet. Chop 1 tablespoon of butter and arrange on top of the asparagus. Squeeze the juice from the lemons, then drizzle half the lemon juice and the olive oil over the asparagus. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and pepper over.
- Wrap up the cloves of garlic and the remaining butter in a small piece of aluminum foil. Place on the baking sheet with the asparagus, and bake for 30-40 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, flip the asparagus and check to see how quickly it is cooking. I used rather thick asparagus and I roasted it for 40 minutes.
- Once the asparagus is soft, remove it from the oven, and place it in a blender with the roasted garlic. Add 2 cups of stock, and start on the chop setting and work your way to liquify. Blending until the soup is smooth.
- Then pour the soup into a pot. Bring the soup to a boil, and add another 1-2 cups of stock, until the soup reaches the consistency you desire. Then add additional lemon juice, salt, and pepper to season the soup to taste. I used the juice of two small lemons and about 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
