asparagus and garlic scape soup - pureed with leafy greens and lemon

Garlic scapes show up for a few short weeks in late spring, curling green shoots snipped from hardneck garlic before the bulb ever forms. If you can find them at a market or in a CSA box, this soup is worth building a weekend around. Regular garlic cloves work fine if scapes are not around. You lose a little of their rounder, milder edge, and the soup still holds together just fine.

Folate from the asparagus is put to work in the same cell turnover happening in a gut that is still repairing itself. Kale and spinach do something different once they are pureed into the base: their magnesium becomes part of a soup you can actually get down easily on a day when eating feels like one more task, not a mineral you have to remember to take separately.

Make the full batch on a day you actually have an hour to spare, not a weeknight squeezed between everything else. This soup gets better by the second day, sitting in the fridge, ready for a version of you that is too tired to cook anything from scratch. Let it take care of that future version of you.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound asparagus, tough ends snapped off, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 garlic scapes, roughly chopped (or 3-4 garlic cloves if scapes are unavailable)
• 1/2 pound cauliflower, cut into florets, OR 1/2 pound white sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups kale, spinach, or other leafy greens, loosely packed
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

Method

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic scapes and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes until they soften slightly and become fragrant. Add the asparagus pieces and stir to coat. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the cauliflower (or sweet potato), sea salt, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a steady simmer. Cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until the cauliflower or sweet potato is completely tender when pierced with a fork.

Add the leafy greens and stir them in. Cook for another 2 minutes, just until wilted.

Remove the pot from the heat. If using a standard blender, let the soup cool for 5 minutes and work in batches, holding the lid down firmly with a folded towel. If using an immersion blender, blend directly in the pot until smooth. Add the lemon juice and blend briefly to incorporate. Taste and adjust salt and lemon as needed - the lemon makes a real difference here, so do not skip it.

Serve hot, with a thin drizzle of olive oil on top if you like.

Instant Pot variation

Set the Instant Pot to Saute (medium). Warm the olive oil and cook the garlic scapes for 2 minutes. Add the asparagus, cauliflower or sweet potato, salt, and broth. Seal the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes. Quick release the pressure. Add the leafy greens, replace the lid without sealing, and let them wilt in the residual heat for 2 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth, then stir in the lemon juice and taste for seasoning.

*Adapted from gutsybynature.com*