Asparagus soup

I made (and posted) an asparagus soup a few months ago. Rather than consult my own recipe, I just started from scratch and made it up as I went along. By using half broth and half water the result was light and flavorful.

We had saved the “butt” ends of some thick asparagus from a week or so ago and kept them in the freezer. Let’s get on with it.

Asparagus soup
Trimmed bottoms of 1 bunch of asparagus
14 oz. chicken broth
14 oz. water
10 oz. frozen baby asparagus spears, thawed
large pinches each of: freshly ground coriander seed, cumin, onion powder, garlic granules, salt, pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream

Put the asparagus bottoms, broth and water in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 1 hour. Strain out the solids, pressing them to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.

Cut 2 inch-long pieces from the tips of the baby asparagus. Set them aside. Cut the remainder of the spears into 1 inch pieces. Put them into the broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Puree in the food processor with some of the liquid. Return the puree to the soup pot and bring to a simmer. Add the spices and cream. Simmer 5 minutes, turn off the heat and let the soup sit until reheating at serving time.

Asparagus soup

I normally don't think about asparagus soup. But, a couple of months ago Peter and I bought (for reasons unknown to me) a package of frozen "baby" asparagus. This stuff frozen is a terrible product.

Then last week we inventoried our 2 freezers, the one in the fridge and the "geezer" freezer in our basement. There they were, those limp spears (once thawed). So soup came to mind. As with nearly any recipe you can add or subtract ingredients. Some carrot might be nice in this. I would think even some spinach could bring something to the party.

By the way, the croutons are homemade. Half of the stock was homemade (found in our freezer) and half came from a can (low sodium, low fat).

Asparagus soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1o oz. frozen baby asparagus, thawed
1/4 cup frozen edamame
1/4 cup frozen peas
onion powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, all to taste
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/3 cup heavy cream
juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat the olive oil in your soup pot and toss in the onion. Cook a few minutes until softened and then add the garlic. Cook 2 more minutes.

Add asparagus, edamame, peas, spices and stock. Bring to a simmer. Simmer slowly for 30 - 40 minutes.

Transfer to a food processor (do this in batches). Puree completely and return to the pot.

Add cream, bring to a simmer and check for seasonings. Simmer 10-15 minutes and serve in hot bowls with a spritz of lemon.