When the weather starts warming up, I switch from hot soups to cold soups because they make a refreshing summertime lunch. One of my favorite cold soups is asparagus; so when I saw cheap over-size asparagus spears the other day, I knew what I wanted to make. However, you know how things change once you get in the kitchen. After chopping a clove of garlic to add to the sauteing onions, I decided to just add the whole head of garlic. After all, one can never get enough garlic.
This soup has everything I love about cold asparagus soup combined with my hot garlic soup. It has the best of both. We did find it is best “a little” cooler than room temperature rather than “‘cold”, right out of the refrigerator. I’m sure it would also make a great hot soup, but we finished it off to quickly to find out. It’s only been a week and I’m ready to make it again!
Asparagus Garlic Soup Recipe
Serves: 4
Prep and Cook time: 1 hour plus overnight
Ingredients
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and chopped
1 pound fresh asparagus, coarsely chopped
3 cups water
Juice from half of a large orange or ¼ cup orange juice
½ tsp. salt or to taste
generous amount of cracked white pepper
¼ cup half and half or milk substitute (makes it richer tasting but can be omitted)
Fresh herbs (lemon thyme or tarragon work best), chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium low heat. Add onion and garlic. Slowly sweat the onions until translucent, about 8 minutes.
- Add asparagus. Increase heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.
- Add water. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool a bit.
- Add the orange juice.
- Using a blender or immersion blender, puree the soup.
- Add the salt and pepper.
- Stir in the cream.
- Chill overnight. Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.
- Ladle into soup bowls. Top with chopped fresh herbs.
Serve with garlic bread, cheese toasts, crackers of choice or a grilled cheese sandwich.
This could also be served in cups as a starter to the meal.
Kitchen Notes
The herbs – I purposely didn’t add herbs to the soup because I wanted to top the soup with fresh herbs from the garden. That was fun. We had a taste test with mint, tarragon, lemon thyme, and oregano. The winner was lemon thyme followed closely by tarragon.
Lemon Thyme
Lemon thyme and cilantro – I have several friends that don’t eat cilantro because of that strange thing about cilantro tasting like soap. So I’ve been looking for a good substitute and I believe it might be lemon thyme. I say that because I have substituted lemon thyme in a few recipes that call for cilantro. In all cases, the lemon thyme was just as tasty. Granted, it yielded a little different flavor but it worked with the ingredients. It gave the dishes a refreshing taste, which is what lemon thyme does for any dish.
If you have an herb garden I would suggest growing lemon thyme. It’s easy to grow and grows fast. It is a perennial and a lovely little plant.
This recipe has been shared with the following blog hops. Be sure to click on the links for more delicious recipes.
Sunday Night Soup Night, Made With Love Mondays, My Meatless Mondays, Just Another Meatless Monday, Mangia Mondays, Hearth and Soul Hop, Whole Foods Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Michelle’s Creative Thursday, Freaky Friday, Gallery of Favorites, Just Another Meatless Monday, Whole Food Wednesdays, Full Plate Thursday, Kids in the Kitchen, Midnight Maniac Meatless Monday, Allergy-Free Wednesdays
This soup was featured on Sunday Night Soup Night.
this dish sounds incredible! i would to have a hot one.
I don’t make cold soups that often but this one looks great. Up until this week I would have agreed with you on the “there’s no such thing as too much garlic”. I made a recipe (that I’m posting tomorrow) that was way too garlicky … a first for me
I’m a huge cold soup fan in the summer – so refreshing. I hope you get to try it and like it. Headed over to check a recipe with too much garlic.
Simple but delicious – and that soup has a gorgeous color. I’ve never experimented with lemon thyme, I’ll have to check it out since I’m such a huge cilantro fanatic and am aghast when people tell me they don’t like it.
I love the info on lemon thyme! I will have to see if I can find some and plant it! Gorgeous pictures
looks so dainty & pretty, esp the pastel green!
I adore lemon thyme! The soup looks really delightful and delicious! Love your serving bowl!
Lovely soup and I love how you plated it! I really like that blue bowl.
I haven’t had cold soup before, not even gazpacho so I will have to give it a go when it turns warmer. The weather here is still erratic! There was even hail in London!
In the summer I usually make one cold soup a week – even if it’s just blend together a melon and some mint. Like a smoothie in a bowl.
Of course, you need to try gazpacho! There’s nothing like it! Hope your weather starts settling down. We’re into our day after day of beautiful sunshine and no moisture.
I love that you went for the gusto and added the whole bulb of garlic!! “my hero”.
This sounds fantastic. I love how you garnished it too… it’s hard to photograph a bowl of green soup….but you made it look simply lovely. 
Well, we are having some great sunshine over here. I would love to have this cold soup bowl with some amazing flavors.
Oh..the soup looks so pretty with the perfect garnish, lovely color and beautiful serving bowl! You are lucky to have such wonderful herbs at hand, MJ.
Asapagus and garlic in a soup, thats a lovely combination. I love this
Lovely presentation and an incredibly delicious sounding soup. You won’t believe this but yesterday I was wanting to try a cold soup and here I see your recipe!! Thanks for sharing
mmm… yummy soup
I love cucumber cold soup. Since that is the only cold soup recipe I have tried
This looks like a great chilled soup recipe. Thanks =)
I especially love the fresh herbs lying across this soup and can just imagine you out in your sundrenched garden MJ… I just bought a lemon thyme plant on Monday and thought of you…I’m not sure there is anything that smells quite as good (although the neighbouring lavender plant is pretty close). I had no idea that cilantro was reputed to taste like soap. I have never found it so. Beautiful, spring fresh soup MJ!
Kelly – I hope you enjoy your lemon thyme plant! It dries quite nicely so you can have dried lemon thyme in the winter! Have a great weekend my friend!
I love everything in this soup, MJ…but I’m not so into cold soup so I would prefer this hot.
MJ, the photos are gorgeous! I love asparagus and have it several times a week when it’s in season. I have never tried pairing it with garlic. Thank you for the excellent idea!
Mj, thank you so much for sharing this. I have been craving soup, but it is has been too hot, can’t wait to try this one!
This is great that I don’t have to bite on the Asparagus and just drink it as soup. Very good ideas.
Mj this just looks beautiful. I could sit down to a bowl of this right now.
Never enough garlic, MJ. You’re right about that. I don’t think there is a day that goes by we don’t throw garlic into one of our dishes. Soup looks delicious and perfect for any fresh herbs like lemon thyme. Will have to try this one out. Thanks!
Mark – You’re my kind of cook! Everything starts with garlic!
Looks like you used lots of garlic in this recipe and that really excites me because I love garlic. I could never have enough garlic and with the addition of asparagus? Sounds like a winner, MJ!
MJ…I am so with you on chilled soups at this time of year. Gazpachos are good. But I love trying new soups and this one is really a beauty! This will be perfect on those really warm nights when you definitely don’t feel like cooking! It’s such a pretty color and I’m glad you added your herbs to garnish! Love your photos and dishes as usual!!! : )
Mj, this sounds really delicious, especially now that it has gotten so warm out. I love that you put the whole head of garlic in there, that’s my kind of thinking. I just made a tomato gazpacho. Cold soup is nice.
That fresh herb floating in the soup…is really making my stomach grumble….so very appetizing. We use lots of coriander leaves (cilantro) in our Indian cooking….it is a must in most curries….wonder why it tastes like soap…maybe its a different breed or so…..this soups sure must have tasted heaven with garlic, onion, and the fresh herbs. Have a great day MJ.
Nisa – they think the cilantro tasting like soap connection is genetic. They recently found that the next day smell from eating asparagus is genetic and apparently I have the gene for that one. Have a great weekend!
Now I’m totally excited to try this recipe. We usually buy asparagus at every grocery shopping and always think what to cook with it. Here it is! I need to buy tarragon and lemon thyme though. Looks beautiful and I can’t wait to actually taste this soup!!!!
I love lemon thyme and the flavor it adds. Your bowl of soup looks lovely, MJ!
I love the color and flavors in this soup MJ!Looks really delicious and with all that garlic and fresh herbs it looks like a lovely combination and great for this weather!I need to get some lemon thyme soon!
Hi MJ – I can’t imagine not liking cilantro… I find it absolutely amazing. Have you tried subbing in “culantro”. The leaves are much longer and thicker. The flavour is similar to cilantro but there are subtle differences – personally I think it’s superior… has a certain… “je ne sais quoi” which cilantro doesn’t. I’ll need to find this lemon thyme – it sounds wonderful!
Love the look of the soup – I can imagine the lovely complex flavours with the asparagus and all that yummy garlic!
bookmarked! it’s whats for dinner this week!
I just love the flavors in this! I love cold soups but for some reason rarely make them at home. must try this!
You can’t go wrong with asparagus and a whole head of garlic in a soup!
Nice food styling! Great placement of the herbs on the soup. And the soup itself sounds terrific – really good combo of flavors. Adding the herbs at the end sounds just right to me – if you add them earlier and chill the soup, a lot of their flavor seems to disappear. Good recipe – thanks.
I love the use of asparagus and garlic together in the soup – I’ve never had garlic soup or asparagus soup, let alone together, but the combination sounds wonderful. I definitely would not have picked mint as a garnish, but the tarragon or thyme would have been at the top of my list as well. Probably thyme first because it’s one of my favorite herbs…
Well, if you’ve never had either asparagus or garlic soup, then you really do need to try this! You’ll love it Javelin! Hope you’re having a great week!
This soup sounds wonderful and the presentation is incredibly lovely!
BTW, I didn’t see a link back to one of the H&S Hop hosts, when you have a chance could you please add one?
Thanks Alea! I’ve added the link back to Hearth and Soup! Sorry about that. Just space it out!
I do grow lemon thyme, never though about it as a substitution for cilantro…great tip! This soup sounds extraordinary and I love the whole head of garlic, so delicious!
Loving the idea for this soup! The asparagus/garlic combo sounds like match made in heaven, and perfect for a cold soup. Pinned! Thanks for sharing this with Sunday Night Soup Night!
I have chosen this soup as one of my top 3 from Sunday Night Soup Night! I have tweeted it, pinned it and shared it on my Facebook page. It will be featured on Sunday Night Soup Night this coming Sunday. Thanks for linking up and I hope to see you again soon!
WOW – Thanks Debbie! Thanks for sharing this soup in SO many ways! I’ll be seeing you on Sunday and can’t wait for the start of Sunday Night Salad Night! Have a wonderful weekend!
Cold soup I must admit is something I have never made! I love the color of this one plus it contains asparagus a vegetable I came to appreciate only very recently!
I know what you mean about summer and cold soups, they are so refreshing and full of flavor.
I have to look for lemon thyme, I love herbs and look forward to trying it
This looks super yummy. Thanks for sharing at Creative Thursday last week. I can’t wait to see what you link up this week. Have a great day
Michelle
I would enjoy this cold or hot – what a wonderful soup! I really like the idea of adding the fresh herbs at the end, and the orange juice must add a wonderful zing this Asparagus and Garlic Soup.
What a lovely soup. I’ve never had it cold but I love asparagus. You have a wonderful looking site. I’m going to go look around now.
What a delicious combo and oh soooo good for you! Would love for you to come share your recipes with us at Kids in the Kitchen: http://younglivingoillady.com/home/kids-in-the-kitchen-link-up-week-16/ Thanks and hope to see you there!
Thanks for the invitation Carrie! All linked up!
Hi MJ,
What a beautiful soup, we have both lemon thyme and tarragon in our herb garden and they are very hardy plants. Your soup looks delicious! Hope you have a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen