amy chaplin

celebrating the art of eating well

Asparagus soup

POSTED ON June 4, 2009

asparagus soup

Today is an exciting day because I went up to Union Square farmers market to gather ingredients and inspiration for my first post!

My enthusiasm and hunger increased as soon as I hit the first stand heavy with an abundance of asparagus, peas and strawberries…already my mind was spinning trying to figure out what to make… asparagus soup, sautéed radishes and sugar snaps. Or should I get sorrel and some herbs to put with the quinoa I had soaked earlier this morning? That frantic thinking only gets worse as we come into summer and the choices are impossible to make and carry!

So far I have settled on Asparagus soup, it is such a luxurious thing to eat. I only seem to make it once a year; because plain steamed or grilled asparagus is just so good.

Also I had a few fingerling potatoes I wanted to use up and 2 or 3 are all you need to give the soup a velvety texture. (You could use a medium size regular potato, too)

I’m putting a touch of dill in this batch but only because I bought some and worry that I won’t use it all in time.

If you want to make this look fancy, cut 2 or 3 inches of the top of a few asparagus, steam or sauté them and garnish each bowl with 2 or 3 or one large stalk split length ways. Sprinkle on a few chopped chives (or dill) if you have any and it’s stunning!

 

green market goodies

soup for two

Asparagus soup

Serves 4 as a starter.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
good pinch or 2 of sea salt
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 medium size fingerling potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice
1 ¼ pound asparagus (1 bunch) trim about an inch of the ends and cut in 1 inch pieces.
2 cups filtered water
4 sprigs dill
few turns of black pepper

Warm a 3 or 4 quart pot over medium-high heat (actually I find that my heat is usually high, which is fine if you remain close).

Add olive oil and onion and sauté for a few minutes until translucent.

Add salt and garlic, keep stirring for another minute or two.

Stir in potatoes, lower heat and cover for a few minutes because they need a head start, as the asparagus cooks really fast. This becomes a nice caramelized base for the soup.

Add asparagus, stir and pour in enough water to just reach the surface of the asparagus, less is better as you can always add more when blending.

Cover pot, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes. The time will vary depending on the size of your asparagus. Mine was a big mixture of thin and thick so I turned off the heat when the larger ones were just tender.

Stir in the dill and black pepper.

Walk the dogs while it cools off a bit.

Blend in an upright blender until completely smooth, more water to get desired consistency. Season with more salt to taste.

 

 


POSTED IN Gluten free, Soup

TAGGED UNDER: dill, green market, spring



never miss a recipe!


2 Comments:

  • Marcie says:

    I finally made this soup! Dad brought me a huge box of home-grown asparagus so I was putting into anything I could think of – and that included the soup! I didn’t have any dill (not a big fan of it anyway) but it was still delish! Definitely one I’ll be making again come next winter (though might need a bit of a break from asparagus for the time being!) Thanks for another great recipe Amy!

  • Howdy! I simply want to give you a huge thumbs up for the great
    information you have got right here on this post. I will be coming back
    to your blog for more soon.

    Also visit my page … pożyczki pozabankowe

Leave a Reply

CAPTCHA Image
*