This asparagus soup is my attempt to create an autoimmune-compliant split pea-less soup! At the beginning of elimination part of the autoimmune protocol I kept on craving split pea soup puree, which used to be one of my favorites – creamy, hearty and comforting, especially when topped with crispy bacon. Therefore, once on the AIP, I started to think what kind of ingredients could sort of mimic split-peas’ texture and flavor, but without negative effects of the latter (split peas contain anti-nutrients that can contribute to a leaky gut condition). Ahem…avocado has a rich and creamy texture, which I exploit a lot in desserts and smoothies, so why not to go one step further by adding it to a soup? So I put my thoughts into the action and started to add avocado whenever I cooked asparagus and zucchini soups (both of those I used to cook relatively often back in France). This kitchen trial resulted in a rich and creamy texture of the soup and best of all, it reminded me of the split pea soup! Needless to say, this recipe became one of my favorites. I like this soup either with or without lemon, though I usually add it for an extra zing whenever I omit bacon in this recipe.
I like to call this recipe “my detox soup” as it gently flushes toxins out of the body while replenishing it with many important nutrients. In fact, asparagus is known for its cleansing qualities, it offers kidney and bladder support and as such is often included into many cleansing products offered over the counter. In regards with the avocado, I would merely say “one avocado a day keeps doctors away”.
- 2-3 bacon strips
- 3 cups chicken broth or water
- 1 bunch asparagus*, trimmed and chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons duck or lard fat
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root,** grated
- 3-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons ACV
- 1 medium avocado,*** roughly chopped
- Lemon or lime to serve (optional)
- Black pepper to taste (omit if on the strict AIP)
- Start with the bacon strips by arranging them on a baking dish and placing in a cold oven.
- Set the oven to 390 F and cook the bacon until crispy, 20 to 25 min. As soon as the bacon is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool until safe to handle, dice and set aside.
- While the bacon is cooking, proceed by making the soup. In a medium-size saucepan bring the broth to a boil, add the asparagus with salt and cook covered over medium heat for 15 minutes or until asparagus is tender.
- In the meantime, preheat the cooking fat in a skillet, add the onion and cook over medium heat until slightly browned.
- Next add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Deglaze with the ACV and transfer the spicy mixture to the saucepan, bring it to a boil and remove from the heat.
- Add the sliced avocado and puree the soup by using a hand blender. For a smoother consistency you can puree it in a high powered stand blender.
- Sprinkle with lemon and serve with bacon.
**You can use 1 teaspoon ground ginger instead.
***I prefer to add avocado at the end of cooking to preserve its nutritional goodness to the maximum. Besides, soup with fresh avocado has a nice light green color that darkens a bit as avocado gets more cooked.
Variations: For a vegan option use coconut oil, omit the bacon and use water or vegetable-based broth.
Maria is the blogger behind the Zesty Paleo website. As a Hashimoto's patient for more than a decade, Maria has constantly been taking steps to improve her quality of life, including nutrition and lifestyle choices.
What is ACV?
Sorry, it is apple cider vinegar 😉
This article offers clear dea ffor the new viewers of blogging, tthat in fact how tto do blogging.
what a great idea – I will rate it after I try it. But definately 5 stars for creative thinking.
Thank you, Ann! I would love to have your feedback after you try the soup 😉
Hi Maria, I made your recipe and it works really well. It is a very good aproximation of the pea part of the soup, but more importantly it tastes great. The ginger is a real surprise. It was quick and easy to make as well. It is part of my batch for this week and will go down well at work. I gave it a 4 because there has to be room for recipes that are amazing. Thanks. (A dob of yogurt would go well, if you can.)
I am so glad that you liked my recipe, Ann!
And I like your idea of adding yogurt to the soup, I will definitely give it a try!
Tastes nothing like split pea soup. It smells & tastes funny..sour, probably from ACV. I MISS traditional non-aip split pea soup so much, & this soup was not worth my time making. The only thing is that it looks like split pea soup..sadly, that’s all. So… I’m on a search still for a tasty split pea soup.
Hi Svetlana,
Sorry to hear that my aip split-pea soup didn’t live up to your expectations. I can understand it as I also loved split-pea soup back in Russia! Did you make it with bacon? Bacon is an important ingredient in this recipe. Of course, it will never taste exactly like the traditional split-pea soup but I find that it makes a nice AIP-friendly substitute.
Yes, I made it with bacon but it still didn’t taste anything like split pea soup I’m used to ..:( I did find an Ahhhhmazing split pea soup on Pinterest that takes me back to the old times, growing up. It does have actual split peas in there though, which are not totally out of the AIP protocol but more of a grey/questionable area, and they don’t cause me troubles. It’s good to hear you were in Russia!! Just visiting or living there?:) Man, how I wish there were Russian AIP meals out there..I could probably be the one to start them…;)
I understand your point, Svetlana. However, it’s not always possible to achieve the same flavor with substitutes, so if it resembles the real one, it can be called a small victory. For example, I tried to experiment with Nomato sauce but it never tastes 100% identical to the real tomato sauce. There are some similarities albeit it never taste like the real one…
To answer your question: I have some Russian roots 😉 And, by the way, I am sure that more and more AIP adapted Russian meals will be available in the future. I also have a few AIP Russian recipes on my blog, more to come!
Oh wow!! How nice! Good to know I know another Russian who’s doing AIP… I’m not the only one in this boat!;)
And yes, I totally agree about small victories. In AIP you have to celebrate each & every mile stone. It’s an adventure in a way!:) &I’ll try to look at some or your Russian recipes 🙂