Asparagus End Soup, Trail Version
Dried asparagus, leek, and greens simmered into a green soup thickened with flax.
- calories
- 390
- weight
- 2.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 150
- protein
- 10 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 500 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried asparagus pieces | 1/2 cup | the woody ends dry well; slice thin before drying |
|---|---|---|
| Dried leek greens | 2 tbsp | do not skip, it carries the whole soup |
| Dried shallot or onion flakes | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp powder | |
| Ground flax seed | 2 tbsp | the thickener |
| Dried spinach flakes | 1/4 cup | crushed dried baby spinach |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| White wine vinegar | 1 tsp | stands in for the white wine |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 500 ml of water to a boil with the bouillon, leek, shallot, and garlic powder.
- Add the asparagus and simmer eight minutes. Woody ends need the time; they stay stringy if you rush them.
- Stir in the spinach and the flax. Simmer two more minutes while it thickens.
- Kill the heat. Add the oil and the vinegar, stir, and let it sit two minutes off the flame.
- Salt and pepper at the end, after the bouillon has had its say.
The original is a home soup built to rescue the woody ends of asparagus, and it leans on a blender to hide the fiber. On trail there is no blender, so the fix happens before you leave: slice the ends thin, dry them, and let a long simmer do what the machine would have. Anything thicker than a coin stays stringy no matter how long it sits in the pot.
Flax is the body here. It does what cream would do without a cooler, and it gels fast once the water is hot. Wine becomes a teaspoon of vinegar, which is what the wine was doing anyway, and it goes in off the heat so the acid survives.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag. Oil and vinegar ride in separate small bottles, upright, in a side pocket.
Variations
- Add 2 tbsp potato flakes if you want it thicker than a broth.
- A scoop of unflavored pea protein turns it into a real dinner.
- At home with a blender you would puree this; on trail, chop the asparagus fine before drying instead.
https://www.maritimeglutton.com/asparagus-end-soup