Creamy Tahini & Lemon-Asparagus Soup / May 19, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Creamy Tahini & Lemon-Asparagus Soup | dolly and oatmeal #vegan

tending to my small backyard garden makes me super happy. it's a feeling i can't really explain. it challenges me, makes me think, forces me to get out of the apartment (especially on super busy days), and even in frustrating times i learn something. one of the first things i do in the morning is to check out what's growing, what critters are crawling around, if there are any birds in our new birdhouse - it's like a whole little ecosystem right outside our bedroom door. the same goes for my mom's garden which (before i moved out) i would help her tend to. when frank and i go up there on weekends, i bolt for the garden and peek at what's popping up. her rhubarb bushel and lemon verbena patches are getting so big, so we're planning to make a rhubarb pie for memorial day - but right now, when asparagus spears are shooting up, and chive, and other veg blossoms are blooming is my absolute favorite time. i will never ever tire of the various shades of spring green, or light purples, and vibrant yellows. every year they make my eyes totally sing.

this soup recipe was really created based on what's freshly available at the market, in my backyard, and (importantly) what this babe and i want to eat. this is a simple soup that really comes together quite fast. since there's no starchy potatoes involved the cook time is relatively fast - which is awesome! so what's the creamy base in this soup, you ask? TAHINI! when i was in LA the other week i saw a bottle of Soom tahini at my favorite little spot, Cookbook, and grabbed a bottle. since i came back i've been thinking up ways to use it aside from my weekly prep of tahini-yogurt sauce, or hummus. i really wanted the nutty flavor to shine. and shine it totally does. the soup is sturdy, light, and frothy, with just enough asparagus flavor, and hints of lemon-y tang. frank and i ate 2 mega servings the other night, and it's (for real) my new favorite soup. even the baby was moving around a whole lot, which i'm taking as an indicator that he's super into the soup as well! (also, in the notes below i have a mini list of my go-to tahini brands with links if you're interested.)

big spring hugs, all! xo

creamy tahini & lemon-asparagus soup | v

i use tahini pretty often in soup and i've found that the quality really matters both for the texture of the soup and the flavor. my favorite brand so far is Soom tahini which i found at a small shop, but is also sold here. some other brands i love are Roland, Al Wadi, and also 365 Whole Foods brand which is sold at Whole Foods but can also be found here. and i'm not sure about you, but i used to store my tahini in the fridge until i was told by a shop owner to store it at room temp and to just give it a good shake before using - i've never looked back.

| makes 2 large servings or 4 small |

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch spring onions, chopped (roughly 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 lb. asparagus, woody ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or filtered water)
1/4 cup fresh chives
2 2-inch pieces lemon peels
1/4 cup tahini paste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
sea salt & fresh pepper

garnishes:

asparagus ribbons
chive flowers
pea tendrils or baby greens
tahini paste

method

heat a large soup pot over medium heat. once hot, add the olive oil and onion, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft and translucent. add the garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds. add the asparagus and cook for 1 minute, then add the broth (or water), chives, and lemon peels. bring soup to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer and cook until the asparagus is tender, about 10-15 minutes. remove soup from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
carefully transfer soup to an upright blender, add the tahini paste and lemon juice. blend on high for 1 minute, until smooth and creamy. taste and adjust salt and/or lemon juice.
return the soup back to the soup pot and bring to a simmer. garnish and serve hot.

enjoy!

more asparagus recipes:

asparagus, pea + broccoli rabe saute over chive-chickpea mash

balsamic roasted asparagus salad w/ fried capers + 7-minute eggs

cilantro black rice, w/ roasted asparagus + garlic scapes

carrot gazpacho with lemongrass / March 30, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

carrot gazpacho with lemongrass | dolly and oatmeal

i know last week i talked about the spring cookbook season, but we're getting into the thick of here! love & lemons is one of the first internet food spaces i visited and became a fan of before i even had a blog of my own. i always admired jeanine's simple, easily prepared but flavorful dishes, and her husband's light, bright, and airy photography. their book, the love & lemons cookbook, is the best kind of extension from their blog that they create together - thoughtful, charming design, and heavy on beautiful food photos. my favorite part (which gave me actual goosebumps!) is where jeanine lays out recipe diagrams in the back of the book. among others, there's one for pesto with variations including: traditional, pepita, zucchini, and mint. it's quite possibly the most fun and inventive thing i've seen in a cookbook in a long while!

truth be told i've never made a gazpacho. i've surely eaten my fair share, but making a cold soup never appealed to me for some reason. perhaps i never came across the right recipe, or maybe i have too much nostalgia for simmering veggies over a hot stove. but you can totally count me as a gazpacho convert now. first of all, it's super easy on the prep, "cook", and cleanup - which are waaaay important for us all, i'm sure. secondly, i thought that the raw-ness of the soup wouldn't make for that soup-y aroma i know and love, the one that fills your house with cozy scents. so i was pleasantly surprised when i left my kitchen and came back in to a waft of fragrant sweet carrots, a hint of aromatic lemongrass, and punchy curry paste. i cannot wait to dig in to more of this book and explore more of what i've been missing these years!

xo's!

*ps there's still time to enter last week's giveaway of autumn giles book, beyond canning. the giveaway ends this friday at 5pm.

carrot gazpacho with lemongrass | v + gf

since i never made a gazpacho before, i followed jeanine's recipe exactly. the only addition i did make was adding some crushed red pepper to the garnish just for a little extra heat.

| serves 4 |

1 stalk lemongrass
16 ounces (450 g) peak-season carrots, peeled and slices, about 2 bunches
1 (14-ounce/414-mL) can light or full-fat coconut milk; reserve 1/4 cup for garnish
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons (30 mL) sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) red curry paste
1/2 cup (125 mL) filtered water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

optional garnishes

hemp seeds
pepitas
microgreens
drizzles of coconut milk

method

prepare the lemongrass by cutting off the root end and the tough upper stem of the stalk. remove the one or two layers of outer leaves and finely chop the tender, aromatic part of the lemongrass.
using a high-speed blender, combine the lemongrass, carrots, coconut milk, garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar, red curry paste, water, and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. blend until smooth. if you're not using a high-speed blender like a vitamix, strain the soup and blend again until completely smooth.
chill for at least 4 hours. if the soups thickens in the fridge, stir in a little more cold water. add more salt and pepper, to taste.
drizzle with olive oil and serve with desired garnishes.

enjoy!

more spring soup recipes:

creamy broccoli rabe soup w/ crispy quinoa + yogurt / October 19, 2015 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

creamy broccoli rabe soup w/ crispy quinoa + yogurt | dolly and oatmeal

sheesh, these past couple of weeks have been a bit mad, but in all the great ways! my eyes have been falling out of head editing the first pass of my cookbook (!!!) as my heart has been racing with excitement for it. i also styled my first ever photoshoot for sweetegreen's winter menu last week which was a whirlwind of emotions - excited, thrilled, and nervous to death basically sums up how i was feeling! in anticipation of the busy week i went ahead and made a big pot of soup to heat up quickly for dinner and serve beside a pan of socca, or whatever else was in the fridge. and i'm not sure about you, but preparing soup from scratch has become one of my favorite things to do when the weather gets cooler. my method for making them tasty is somewhat basic; adding different spices here and there, maybe toasting and grinding them, or roasting and caramelizing the star vegetable to add a deeper flavor. but i love that soup is so adaptable, that changing the flavor or consistency can be so dependent on what you're in the mood for.

so often the autumnal season gets poignantly marked with homemade soups, usually with some variation of sweet creamy winter squash. but my favorite soup growing up (as a super picky eater) was a really basic cream of broccoli soup, which probably had a larger ratio of cream to soup and was most likely void of any sort of nutrition at all. so i wanted step up my favorite creamy broccoli soup of years past, and put an upgraded, and more nourishing spin on it by using broccoli rabe and cutting out the dairy. because i still wanted that creamy quality to shine, i blended in a dairy-free cultured coconut yogurt to the mix, along with some leftover waxy potatoes from the summer. for some aromatic quality i toasted a few coriander seeds during the saute process to add a slight citrusy and nutty flavor - something i love when it comes to anything having to do with broccoli. crispy quinoa is another favorite of mine, i typically add it to salads for crunch, but topping the soup with it gives it all a fun texture, while also making it a heartier dish - perfect for a cozy lunch or to accompany a larger meal :)

big ups to soup season! xo

*and big thanks to andy boy broccoli rabe for sponsoring this post! all opinions are totally my own :)

creamy broccoli rabe soup w/ crispy quinoa + yogurt

creamy broccoli rabe soup w/ crispy quinoa + yogurt (v + gf)

| makes 4 servings |

crispy quinoa

1 cup cooked quinoa
3-4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
salt

soup

1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, woody ends trimmed (roughly 3 cups)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts sliced thin
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch chunks
3 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or filtered water)
1/2 cup unsweetened cultured non-dairy yogurt, plus more for serving

method

to crisp the quinoa, heat 3 teaspoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. once the skillet is hot, add the quinoa and a couple pinches of salt; stir and cook until crisp (if using white quinoa it will appear more golden in color). you will hear the quinoa pop and see it brown a bit when it's ready, about 8-10 minutes. (if you notice the quinoa sticking or burning in places, add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil.) remove from heat and place in a clean bowl; set aside.
preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. in a bowl, toss together the broccoli rabe, olive oil, and season with salt and pepper until broccoli rabe is evenly coated. turn broccoli rabe out onto the prepared pan and cook for 15-20 minutes, until tender and lightly browned. set aside.
while the broccoli rabe is roasting, saute the leeks. heat a large soup pot over medium heat, when pot is hot add the coconut oil and leeks; stir and cook until soft and translucent in color, about 4-5 minutes. add the garlic and coriander seeds, and stir for 30-40 seconds, until fragrant. add the potatoes, broth (or water), and salt and pepper to taste; bring soup to a boil, cover, and turn heat down to a simmer. cook soup until potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a sharp knife, about 15-20 minutes.
add roasted broccoli rabe - reserve a few small pieces for serving - and yogurt; stir and simmer for another 2 minutes, turn heat off and let the soup cool for 10 minutes before pureeing.
in batches, puree soup in a food processor or blender on high. taste and adjust salt if needed. return soup to the pot and bring to a boil. serve the soup and top with crispy quinoa, a dollop of yogurt, and pieces of roasted broccoli rabe.

enjoy!