We awoke yesterday morning to rainy, chilly weather which carried on all day. A nice hot soup seemed like just the thing for supper -- cream of asparagus soup.
Our asparagus is growing apace -- plagued by beetles but it grows so fast that I can snap off the lovely green and purple spears before too much damage is done.
The first step in making the soup is to break up the spears and simmer them in chicken broth (about two cups) till just tender.
Next, whir up the asparagus and the broth in a blender or food processor. I save out the tips to put into the finished soup.
Saute chopped onion and some minced garlic in butter. This could get whirred up with the asparagus but I like a bit of texture in my soup. I also like a bit of hot curry powder.)
Remove the onion once it has become translucent. Use the melted butter that remains (adding more if necessary) to make a white (cream) sauce ( I used about 3 tablespoons of butter, 3 tablespoons flour, and a can of evaporated milk.)
Combine the cream sauce, the pureed asparagus, the tips, and more chicken broth if needed. (This works well with broccoli too. If I had mushrooms, I would have added them as well.) Add salt and pepper to taste; dust with paprika for looks.
"Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Beau--ootiful Soo--oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo--oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!"
(from Chapter X, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
9 comments:
Mmmmmmmh, this looks delicious, I am coming right over! :-)
I spent the day in the country, driving by field after field of asparagus, white one mostly. The white variety from the are east of Vienna - the Marchfeld - has a delicate, yet intense asparagus taste. I have become quite addicted to it.
Your blog clock seems to run on some Australian Standard Time. ;-)
Oh-oh-oh. Now that IS some beautiful soup! I adore asparagus. Thanks for this recipe.
Merisi -- I wish you could indeed pop in for some soup (now that I'm out of Australia and back in my correct time zone. ;-)
Willow -- Cream of green, whether asparagus, broccoli, spinach, or a combination, is one of my standbyes.
Boy but that looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe ... I'll try it with broccoli soon.
Sounds wonderful Vicki, it has turned cool here and that would help warm me!
~ Carol ~
Mmm. I'll try adding some curry to my next batch. My friend Doris, who makes lots of soup, suggested I get an immersion blender -- basically a blender on a stick. You stick it directly in the pot to puree the broth and veggies. It changed my life, creamed-soup-wise.
Morning,Pat! This is an excellent thing to do with broccoli (especially home grown that might still have a tiny caterpillar lurking -- whir it up and what the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve for.) My boys loved curried broccoli soup when they wouldn't eat broc as a veg.
It's quite chilly here, Carol, and there's a bloody frost warning for tonight. Arrgh!
Marta -- the immersion blender sounds like something I need to check out. I'm always resistant of adding new kitchen gadgets -- I was the last kid on the block to get a food processor but after twenty years of making pesto in a blender, I gave in. My kitchen is on the small side but I might just find space for a blender on a stick!
That looks really yummy (or is it yummi?) Anyway you know what I mean. Thanks for your recipe. A cup of hot soup is one of the things that makes me also happy especially on a cold day like this.
Yummy is the word for it, Reader Wil!
Post a Comment