Cream Of Asparagus Soup

*Post by Angela.

Ever have an ingredient get so much under your skin that you find yourself buying it every time you go to the store? Right now, I'm all about asparagus - everytime I see those gorgeous green spears, I find myself getting a bunch (or two or three), putting them in the fridge, and then inevitably serving them simply and plainly as a side to some other entree. For once, though, I decided to put asparagus front and center with this delicious and easy soup from allrecipes.

List of ingredients for the soup:

• 2 lbs of asparagus spears (make very sure you trim the woody ends, since we'll be pureeing this in just a moment
• 1 onion
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth or mock chicken broth for a vegetarian soup)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2 cups milk (or heavy cream for a more decadent version)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

First, I cut the asparagus into 1" pieces, and chopped the onion, then put both in a big pot with about 1 cup of the chicken broth. I brought the pot to a boil, then covered and simmered for about 12-15 minutes, until the asparagus and onion were both tender.

Once tender, I took the pot off the heat, pureed the vegetables using my immersion blender, until very smooth, and poured the puree into another container (I only have one big pot, and I needed it for this next part!).

I melted the butter in that same pot over medium low heat, then added the salt, pepper, and flour, stirring constantly - this mixture is called a roux, and is really important, as it acts as a thickener for soup. It'll burn on you quickly if you don't constantly stir, but you'll only need to do this for about 2-3 minutes, just to cook the flour taste out.

Now here's where you get the benefit of my mistake (although I'm sure you probably wouldn't have made the mistake in the first place). The directions say to whisk in the remaining broth next, then bring it to a boil. You should do that. I messed up and added the asparagus puree and cream next. I quickly realized my mistake when the mixture starting spitting angry green gobs all over my face and arms, and added the broth in a hurry. In the end, it didn't affect the taste, but it's the more dangerous route - so I guess if you like living life on the edge, follow my lead. Otherwise, add the broth first. Once all the proper ingredients were in the pot, I brought it up to a simmer, whisking to make sure that any flour lumps were broken up and the soup was smooth.

I turned the heat to the lowest setting, then put the sour cream in a bowl, added in a ladle of hot soup, and whisked until combined.

I poured the sour cream mixture into the pot with the rest of the soup, added the lemon juice, and added a little more salt and pepper to suit my tastes. This soup is so gorgeously velvety, creamy and well, asparagus-y, I could eat it for days without getting sick of it. So, next time you find yourself with too much asparagus, do yourself a favor and make some soup - asparagus deserves to be treated like the star it is.

Comments

[Funki Baker]

Ooh, that looks really good. I don't put cream in my asparagus soup, but now I think I might. I bet yogurt would be good in this too.

[Angela]

Funki Baker-
Yeah, I think the cream mellows the...asparagusiness (I just created a word!) of the soup. I was actually thinking about subbing in yogurt for the sour cream, but I already had the sour cream in the fridge. What's your recipe? I'd love to try a non-cream asparagus soup, too!