Brown Rice Soup with Asparagus

Source: The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weil, M.D. and Rosie Daley

Cook Time: About an hour

3/4 cup brown rice

1/4 cup wild rice

2 tsp salt or to taste

1 bunch asparagus

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 celery stalks, chopped fine (about 2/3 cup)

1/2 onion, chopped fine (about 1/3 cup)

1 small carrot, chopped fine (about 1/3 cup)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

6 cups vegetable stock

2 Tbsp minced scallions

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 Tbsp natural soy sauce (such as tamari)

1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce

Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Garnish:

Parsley Sprigs

Put the rice with the salt in 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the rise is tender and the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes.

Trim the tough ends off the asparagus stalks and discard. Steam the asparagus until tender yet crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain it in a colander, then rinse under cold water. Let the asparagus cool for a few minutes. When completely cooled, cut into 1-inch peices, reserving 1/4 cup of tips for garnish.

Meanwhile, coat the bottom of a large pot with the olive oil. Add the celery, onion, carrot, and thyme. Cover and cook over low heat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the vegetable stock and cooked rice and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let cool a bit.

Carefully transfer small batches to a blender and blend until smooth. Return all the blended mixture to a pot. Stir in the asparagus, scallions, parsley, soy sauce, pepper sauce, and ground pepper. Return to a simmer for 2 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with reserved asparagus tips and parsley sprigs.

Serves 8

108 Calories per serving

2.3 G Fat

.3 G Saturated fat

My notes: I steamed the brown and wild rice together in the steamer to save some time while I did some other things earlier in the afternoon. I don't recommend using brown Minute Rice, however, you want that nutritious husk left on the the grain. I also omitted the pepper sauce because of all the little ones who would be eating with us. We managed to get our pickier two to eat it, which was a huge accomplishment, given the runny oatmeal texture. Overall, it was a very hearty soup, which I served with a tomato salad and french bread with fresh garlic. It stood up well in the lunchbox and was even better the next day- as most soups are.