Sweet Potato and Asparagus Bisque
Try this Sweet Potato and Asparagus Bisque recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Sweet Potato and Asparagus Bisque recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 large onion
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 pounds asparagus
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (orange or white)
- 6 cups vegetable broth (low sodium or water)
- 2 tablespoons dried dill
- 2 tablespoons salt-free seasoning
- 3-4 cups nondairy milk (unsweetened adjust amount depending on desired thickness)
- 4 tablespoons dijon mustard (or stone ground mustard)
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- Carbohydrate 9.4970459901325 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.238011044421791 g
- Fiber 3.08235984400887 g
- Protein 3.39335803540496 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0641325703380808 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -8 serving (297g)
- Sodium 6.48129518755332 mg
- Sugar 6.41468614612363 g
- Trans Fat 0.0923460945003766 g
- Calories 45 calories
Step-by-step
- Place all ingredients except for the plant milk, mustard and nutritional yeast (if using), in the Instant Pot.
- Select Manual function and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. When time is up, release pressure.
- Add the almond milk, mustard and nutritional yeast.
- Puree with an immersion blender right in the pot until smooth.
- This soup is delicious served over black, red or wild rice, or alone.
Traditional bisques rely heavily on heavy cream and crustacean shells to build richness, whereas vegetable-forward variations achieve body through starch gelatinization and deliberate reduction. Sweet potatoes supply an abundance of natural amylose and amylopectin, which hydrate during pressure cooking and thicken the liquid when sheared. Choosing orange-fleshed varieties yields a sweeter, denser profile, while white-fleshed tubers produce a starchier, drier texture requiring careful liquid adjustment.
Pressure cooking breaks down cellular walls rapidly, yet uniform vegetable size remains critical for even softening inside the vessel. Cutting sweet potatoes into uniform two-inch chunks ensures they reach complete tenderness within the six-minute high-pressure window alongside whole garlic cloves and halved onions. Asparagus stalks require no preliminary blanching because the pressurized steam denatures fibrous pectin matrices instantly, softening tough stems without dulling the chlorophyll content.
Assessing doneness without a thermometer requires inspecting the sweet potato chunks against the tines of a fork; resistance should be entirely absent when pressed. Piercing the thickest portion of a potato piece guarantees the center has cooked through before the pressure release step occurs. Undercooked roots leave gritty particulate matter behind that an immersion blender cannot smooth out.
Incorporating unsweetened plant milk and Dijon mustard after pressure cooking preserves volatile aromatics that degrade under sustained high heat. Blending directly in the pot using an immersion blender creates a vortex that incorporates air, turning the starchy broth into a velvety emulsion.
