Easy-peasy to make, that’s what this soup is — only it’s made with asparagus and not peas. We’ve been enjoying some beatifically balmy, very warm weather the last week or so but until then it was raining far too much. Gloomy days that cast a pall on busy lives can be enlivened by certain foods, but only on condition that they also be quick to prepare — otherwise, that would only make matters worse! So what better way to regain a more tolerant view of the quotidian than to make a velvety asparagus soup that simply glides down the gullet without requiring any chomping, hey?
Ingredients: asparagus, olive oil, onion, peppercorn, chicken stock or water, parmesan cheese, cream or milk, Mixed herbs.
Take a look.
Roughly chop an onion and let it sweat gently in some olive oil and sprinkle a tiny amount of sugar over it. Add a peppercorn too (I do).Here are the asparagus …
Snap them in half with your fingers (I can’t snap the asparagus and the photo at the same time, but I hope you get the idea).
As you can see … the asparagus tend to snap at a crucial point of their anatomy … you keep the green and you throw away the hard, inedible stem. Thank you, my dear friend ‘Lippy’, for teaching me this trick!
Do, however, use a knife or even a pair of scissors to cut up the asparagus into two or three parts. Wash them to remove any trace of dirt or soil ….
And add them to the onion.
Cook them for a couple of minutes, add a little bit of salt and mix well.
Then add some chicken stock, if you have any, or just plain water. I was using some freshly made chicken stock and used the little sieve to catch any bits and pieces I didn’t necessarily want in the asparagus soup, In terms of liquid, it’s a good idea to think 250ml per person. In terms of common sense …. I poured the equivalent of about 1 lt of chicken stock over the asparagus … and it looked ‘enough’. If it had not, I would have added extra water.
Place a lid on the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender.Grate some parmesan cheese. Pour as little or as much cream into a glass. If you don’t have cream, milk will do I suppose.
When the asparagus is cooked, use an immersion blender to mush it all up.
Add the equivalent of 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese per person (in this case 4) and some chopped herbs of your choice (the humble parsely in this picture). Mix well.
Add the cream.
Stir ….
Taste … and see whether it needs a bit more salt, and pepper. White pepper if you have it.
A few mint leaves in the middle …
And here is your luscious, creamy, made in about 20 minutes, velvety asparagus soup.
What a great way to enjoy the lovely taste of asparagus.
Thank you! I don’t know about you, but some evenings I am just too tired to cook anything that takes longer than half an hour!
Superb! Asparagus soup is something I’ve never made, and have wanted to do for years. Just might get off my glutes and try this one of these days.
Perfect for tonight, thanks for the inspiration.
I have nominated you for an award. Enjoy it!
http://valentinadesigns.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/awards-month-by-valentina-cirasola-interior-designer/
Valentina … thank you so much for your nomination, I am very touched and appreciate it all the more coming from someone as vibrant as you! Apart from any other quality that you might bring to your work, what comes through from your articles and observations is a delightful eye for colour and a very sophisticated sense of humour. Lovely!
It is my pleasure to nominate you Josephine. Thank you for being here.
Jo, I learned a new word to refer to a comfort to the palate… ‘velvety’!
This is a great recipe, one which could be applied to any fresh seasonal vegetable. Your presentation is very delectable too! 😀 Fae.
Oh Fae … thank you so much for your compliments which I accept with a big big smile, from ear to ear!
Nice dish. We need to make this. We love asparagus in soup but haven’t tried a cream-based soup. Now we will…thx
Look at the size of those beautiful asparagus…did they come from your garden? Your soup sounds delicious.
The soup is very ‘soothing’, if you know what I mean, especially when there is still a chill in the air … comforting. The asparagus are from the market as I don’t have a garden. The most I can grow are herbs which I love of course. And lemons, and this year even an orange tree! I think it’s very important for us to ‘grow’ things, dont’ you (of course you do, I just love your potting shed) even though it may only be some basil or parsely. I literally do not know how to cook without herbs.
What a beautiful color that soup has! I love asparagus and would eat them every day this time of year if I could but it’s nice to vary the presentation. I could also see making this soup with coconut milk instead of the cream for a dairy-free version. I’m very intrigued that you added some sugar with the onions. I never heard of this before and always thought that onions get plenty sweet cooking down on their own. Please enlighten me?
Thank you for writing to me and I am sure the soup would taste nice even without the cream and/or that coconut milk would serve admirably for dairy-free reasonsm though personally I think that the parmesan is a must. We know why we love to eat the way to eat and everyone has to enjoy what they eat — otherwise what is the point? – so everyone must make their own choices.
Considering I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, all I can say re the adission of sugar (only a little, mind!) is that sugar, just like salt, is an enhancer of flavours … it will make the onion even sweeter. In Italian cooking, a tiny amount of sugar is added to fresh peas too. I very often add it to tomato sauces because, let’s face it, the best tomatoes are at their best only at the hight of summer.