Creamy Roasted Asparagus Soup with Potatoes, White Beans, and Spinach
This soup is wonderful for a casual Sunday dinner or simply prepared for a busy week ahead. Rich and thick with beans and potatoes, it’s deliciously satisfying without being a bit heavy.
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh asparagus, rinsed and trimmed
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 14-ounce can salt-free navy or other white beans, drained and rinsed
1¾ pounds unpeeled red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed clean, trimmed, and divided (1 pound diced in ½-inch cubes, and ¾ pound left whole)
6 cups vegetable broth
½ teaspoon black pepper
Dash of salt-free Cajun or Creole seasoning
2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
¼ cup raw cashews
Oven
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place asparagus spears on a nonstick roasting pan or baking sheet. Sprinkle with seasonings. Roast uncovered for 10 minutes or until just tender-crisp.
- Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, carefully cut spears into 1”-long pieces.
Electric Pressure Cooker
- Into a large electric pressure cooker, add onions, garlic, beans, and one pound of the diced potatoes. Add the broth and the seasonings plus about two-thirds of the roasted asparagus.
- Lock the lid in place. Select high pressure for 20 minutes.
- After cooking is complete, use the quick release method to release pressure. When valve drops, very carefully remove lid. Mix in the chopped fresh spinach.
- In a high-powered blender, blend the cashews with about 2 or 3 cups of the soup until smooth and creamy. Return blended mixture to soup pot and stir well.
- Add in the last third of the roasted asparagus.
Microwave
- While the soup is cooking in the pressure cooker, prepare the remainder of the potatoes. Scrub well and poke each one several times with a fork or knife for steam to escape while baking.
- Place potatoes on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on full power for around 5 minutes. Depending on size of potatoes and your microwave power, cooking time may vary, so please adjust as needed.
- When cool enough to handle, roughly chop microwaved potatoes. Add to the pot of soup.
- Serve hot.