Wash and dry the asparagus. Cut off and discard the tough and thick asparagus bottoms. Toss asparagus with a tiny amount of olive oil, some freshly ground salt and black pepper.
Spread the asparagus spheres in a single layer (if possible) on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes. Continue with the rest of the recipe while the asparagus is roasting in the oven.
Once the asparagus is done roasting, remove from oven and set aside. Allow to cool.
Cut off the asparagus tips and set aside in a bowl. These will be used later once the soup is made.
Add the rest of the roasted asparagus spheres to a blender (I used my Vitamix but any blender will work).
To Make the Soup:
In a large non-stick pot, heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat.
Add the minced garlic and chopped onions. Saute on medium heat, mixing often, until the onions start to become translucent and cook through. If you find that the garlic or onions are starting to burn or stick to the pot, reduce the heat or add a little more olive oil.
Add 2 tbsp of flour and mix in with the cooked onions/garlic mixture. Mix for a few minutes allowing the flour to cook.
Add all of the cooked flour/onion/garlic mixture, unsweetened almond milk, and vegetable broth into the blender containing the roasted asparagus spheres.
Completely blend until you achieve a nice smooth silky puree.
Add the blender contents back into the non-stick pot. Heat the soup until it comes to a gentle simmer.
Add the dried thyme, lemon juice, tamari, 1/4 teasp salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Mix and allow the soup to simmer and thicken a little until it turns into a creamy soup consistency.
Season to taste with additional salt or lemon juice if needed.
Add in most of the roasted asparagus tips, saving some for garnish if you prefer.
To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl, garnish with some roasted asparagus tips, croutons (or serve some toasted french bread on the side), and freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy hot!
Notes
For the asparagus spheres, I used about 2 bunches containing spheres on the thinner size.Depending on the acidity of your lemons, you may need more or less in the recipe.For the vegetable broth, I typically use the IMAGINE brand low-sodium.