Attending a natural foods health-supportive culinary school, I picked up a few food tricks and hacks that leave people in awe. There are the effects of blanching green vegetables, sure, and how to make shiitake mushrooms taste like bacon, but one trick that truly impresses is how to create ethereally creamy vegetable soups without any dairy or roux. The Natural Gourmet Institute showed us three simple plant-based gluten-free ways to thicken nearly any soup: potatoes, oats, or short-grain rice. Yes, you read that correctly—short-grain rice!
Every time I make this "Cream of Asparagus Soup" for my dad, who cooks from the French tradition, he asks, "How much butter did you use?" When I respond that there's none, he's curious about the heavy cream. Again, I tell him there’s none. Every single time, he’s amazed by the creamy smoothness of a soup that contains no cream at all. That’s true magic!
It's also very simple to make, takes less than 30 minutes, and the same technique can be applied to other creamy vegetable soups, such as carrot, pea, broccoli, tomato, and cauliflower.
Plant-Based Cream of Asparagus Soup
Yield: 3-4 servings
Tip: To enhance the flavor of asparagus and maximize your spears, this recipe instructs you to create a flavorful stock for your soup by steeping the trimmed asparagus ends in water. Afterward, strain the mixture and discard the tough woody ends.
Test where to trim by snapping a single stalk with your fingers. Where it breaks naturally is a good place to cut the stalks.
What You Need:
1 bunch of asparagus
2 cups water
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, sliced
Kosher salt
¼ cup arborio or short grain rice, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup herb leaves, such as parsley, mint or thyme
Freshly ground pepper to taste
What You Do:
Trim the asparagus, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Set aside the tops and upper part of the stalks.
In a medium stockpot, put the remaining asparagus pieces (from the bottom of the stalks) and cover with cool water. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain and reserve the liquid. Discard the solids.
Meanwhile, heat a large stock pot. Add a thin layer of olive oil. Add the shallot and a few pinches of salt and sauté until softened. Add the reserved asparagus tops, a few more pinches of salt and sauté about 2 minutes.
Add the strained asparagus liquid, arborio rice and vegetable broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the rice and vegetables are very tender.
Add the herb leaves with a few pinches of salt and simmer for 30 seconds.
Transfer the contents to a blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively, blend with an immersion blender.
Serve immediately with a garnish of shaved asparagus, lemon or toasted seeds.
Note: The use of Arborio or another short grain white rice, like Sushi rice or Carnaroli is key. Long grain rice will not produce the same creaminess. Brown rice has too much fiber.
Variations:
In place of asparagus, use broccoli, carrots, peas, or cauliflower. Skip the first two steps and use water or broth in step 4 in place of strained asparagus liquids.
Use leftover cooked vegetables (roasted, sautéed, steamed, etc.) of any kind for the asparagus.
Use leftover mixtures, like sauces, casserole fillings, etc. to transform into a cream soup.
Top with spice oil or pistou or toasted bread crumbs.
Learn how to make Plant-Based Creamy Vegetable Soups and present them beautifully in our pre-recorded cook-along class - Garnish Like a Pro.
