It’s asparagus season!  Celebrate local and fresh ingredients with this guilt-free, awesome soup!  While this recipe is vegan, you could certainly add a little cream for that extra something special

Lemon and Thyme Asparagus Soup

¼ cup olive oil
2 ½ pounds fresh asparagus, woody ends removed and chopped into 1” pieces
4 Celery stalks, cut into 1” pieces
2 onions, diced
16 cups vegetable stock
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried, crumbled sage
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3 bay leaves
zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups spinach (stems removed)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat, stir in asparagus, celery and onion.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Continue cooking until onions turn translucent.

Add in vegetable stock, garlic, parsley, sage, thyme and bay leaves.  Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat back down to medium and allow to simmer around 30 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Taste liquid and adjust for salt and pepper.  Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice and spinach.  Allow mixture to cool for a bit.

Using a ladle and working in small batches, transfer soup into a blender and blend until smooth.  Note:  Use your own judgment – if you like your soup thicker, use less soup liquid.  If it’s too thick, add more soup liquid.  Once blended, transfer batches into a second pot.  Once all soup has been blended, taste again for salt and pepper and warm in a pot over the stove.

Serve hot or cold.

Eat Well!

~Trish