Saturday, March 1st, 2014 - Asparagus Soup

May 2015 Update:

Used a new recipe and it was much better (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/creamy-spring-asparagus-soup):

Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 medium Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 (1-pound) bunch asparagus, woody stems snapped off and discarded, spears cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup low-fat sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Method: 

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium low heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, add asparagus and simmer gently until potatoes and asparagus are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat ad set aside to let cool slightly. 

Carefully transfer soup to blender in batches and purée until smooth. Return soup to pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, whisk in sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with chives and serve.

Recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/creamy_asparagus_soup/

Changes: I used less water and I still felt like it was too much. It made the soup too thin. Next time I will only put in two cups of stock.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs asparagus, trimmed of woody stem bottoms
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped)
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• Leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp dry vermouth
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1 Cut tips from the asparagus 1 1/2 inches from top and halve tips lengthwise if thick. Reserve for garnish. Chop the remaining asparagus stalks into 1/4-inch rounds.

2 Melt the butter in a 4 to 5 quart pot on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped asparagus (not the spear tips) to the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 5 minutes.

3 Add the broth, water, and thyme to the pot. Increase the heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, until the asparagus are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, stir in the chopped parsley.

4 While the soup is cooking, blanche the asparagus tips in a small pot of boiling, salted water (about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt per quart of water), until the tips are just tender, about 2-4 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus. Drain. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

5 Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. (If you use an upright blender, work in small batches, fill no more than a third the blender bowl at a time, and hold down the lid while blending.) For a creamy texture, if you want, press the puréed soup through a sieve or food mill. Stir in the cream. Stir in the vermouth and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.