This recipe is from page 180 of The Homegrown Paleo Cookbook, but I’m sharing it with you here because I want you to make it, even if you don’t have the book (but I do think you should also buy the book!). Ok, enough with my sales pitch, onto the recipe…
This thick, rich soup is perfect for a cool, rainy spring day. Roasting the asparagus intensifies its flavor, and the sweet potato both gives the soup sweetness and thickens it. The addition of sorrel, an often-overlooked herb, gives the soup a nice zing. It has a bright lemony flavor. Finally, I love the sautéed trumpet mushrooms for their meaty texture and additional umami.
Want to see asparagus growing on the farm, check out how Andrew harvests it, and see how I make it in the kitchen? I made a video right here:
- 1½ pounds asparagus
- 3 tablespoons ghee, divided
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon ghee
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 white fleshed sweet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 or 2 pinches of cayenne pepper
- 1½ quarts homemade chicken stock
- ¼ pound trumpet mushrooms (see Notes)
- Juice of ½ lime
- A few fresh sorrel leaves, cut into thin ribbons (see Notes)
- White truffle oil, for drizzling on the soup (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet or other baking dish with parchment paper.
- Wash the asparagus to make sure that all of the sand is removed (you don’t want a crunchy soup) and snap off the bottom ¼ to ⅓ of the stalks.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the ghee. In a large bowl, toss the asparagus with the melted ghee and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
- Spread out the asparagus on the prepared baking sheet.
- Place in the oven and roast for half an hour, or until the asparagus is tender.
- While the asparagus is roasting, melt 1 tablespoon of ghee in a large soup pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion and sauté for about 10 minutes, until soft.
- Add the sweet potato, cayenne pepper, and stock.
- Simmer for half an hour or until the sweet potato is soft.
- While the soup is simmering, slice the trumpet mushrooms into small coins, about ⅛ inch thick. Sauté them in the rest of the ghee over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes per side, until lightly browned.
- Drain on a paper towel and set aside.
- Remove the asparagus stalks from the soup and discard. Cut the roasted asparagus into 2-inch pieces and add to the soup.
- Simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the soup from heat and, with an immersion blender, blend the soup.
- You can also do this with a food processor or blender, working in batches.
- Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- When ready to serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the mushrooms, sorrel, and a drizzle of truffle oil.
