Ever pull something out of the refrigerator and find something else that you forgot all about behind it? That’s what happened today. I LOVE asparagus. And we had some sitting in the refrigerator waiting for a good steak. But then we went to Haymarket and all of those veggies ended up pushing the asparagus to the back and by the time I unearthed them again, the stalks had all gone limp. I was heartbroken. But I didn’t want to give up, so I decided to make them into a soup.
Given that we had just used up the vast majority of our veggies in the other two dishes we had made today and yesterday, I didn’t have a lot to work with. So I grabbed a bag of lentils from the cabinet and some chicken stock and set about creating something I’d never made before.
Ingredients
- One bunch of asparagus past its prime (thin stalks – they are more tender and not as bitter)
- Two quarts of low-sodium chicken stock
- One bag of lentils (1 lb)
- 1 tsp garlic
- 4 Bay leaves
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Wash the asparagus and break off the bottoms to remove the woody lower bits. Chop into 3 sections. In a 2 quart stock pot, add the chicken stock, asparagus, lentils, garlic, bay leaves, cumin and butter. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. REMOVE THE BAY LEAVES (this is important since they are poisonous). Blend with an immersion blender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
This was totally yummy, although it comes out looking more like split pea soup.
