Asparagus Soup With Coconut

When I said in the introduction I am a spontaneous cook, I meant it. However, when assembling this soup, I did write down the ingredients on a notebook. A few days later I was packing for a trip and figured it is a good idea to take a notebook with. I have several notebooks around the house and grabbed the first one I saw. There was plenty of, what seemed, chicken scratch. I ripped off half of the pages. How liberating was that! A clean start.

Needless to say, upon returning from the trip, I wanted to write a post about the delicious asparagus soup I had duly noted down. I paddled through all the notebooks I could find. Finally it occurred I had thrown away the pages where the recipe was. Soon I realized it wasn’t the only one. Oh well...

Thank God the soup is uncomplicated. The pictures show the main ingredients. The subtle taste of asparagus indicates I have probably seasoned it with hing and black pepper. Water cress and thyme are used as a garnish.

HOW TO CRACK A COCONUT OPEN

Coconuts have three eyes. I’ve heard they never fall on people because they can see :-). Now that we have humanized coconuts, let’s operate them. That is, if you still can...

Before knocking a coconut open, you have to drain it through one of the eyes. One of them is softer than the rest. Pierce it with a sharp object and let the water run out. It makes a fresh drink. It can be used in cooking, too.

Take a blunt and solid item (dull side of a heavy kitchen knife is good) and firmly rap around the coconut right in the middle. Hit especially the ridges. It is the determination of your tapping that will crack the coconut, not force. If done correctly, the coconut will split in two equal parts and is easy to clean. If you have troubles with this method, place a coconut in a bag and drop it down from the window! Second floor or higher works perfectly.

Scoop out the white flesh. Scrape out the thin brown skin attached to it. Grate the coconut or put it in a blender.

MAKE YOUR OWN CONONUT MILK

Place the pieces of coconut and hot water in a blender and mix until it has a fine, cream-like consistency. Sieve out any junks of coconut if they bother you.

ASPARAGUS SOUP

Asparagus

Celery

Potatoes

1 coconut (made into milk)

Whey (by-product of cheese-making), vegetable stock or water

Ghee or oil for tempering

Hing

Black pepper (coarse)

Salt to taste

Herbs for garnish

Heat up the ghee

Sauté a sprinkle of hing and black pepper for a few seconds

Add the celery, sauté for a while before adding potatoes

Add the potatoes, sauté for a while before adding asparagus

Add the asparagus, sauté for a while before adding whey

Add only as much liquid as it takes to cover the vegetables

Simmer until the veggies are soft

Run through a blender

Add the coconut milk and more whey to reach the consistency of your liking

Add salt to your taste

Garnish with fresh herbs