Springtime Asparagus Soup
Next up in my celebration of all things asparagus is a beautiful, creamy asparagus soup.
With its fresh flavour and beautiful bright green colour, it is like a little bowl of springtime.
The asparagus flavor is subtle, with a nice herbal flavour from the tarragon. Sour cream adds creaminess to the soup, without adding any heaviness. I like to add some spinach to the mix to intensify the green colour, and the extra vitamins the spinach adds is not bad either!
As good as this soup is hot, it is also nice served slightly chilled, or at room temperature in warmer weather.
Don’t waste those woody stems!
Totally optional but….before you discard the woody ends of your asparagus consider blanching, then pureeing the stems. Once pureed, drain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing firmly with a back of a spoon to extract every drop of flavour and liquid. All that flavourful liquid gets added to your stock and the fibrous pulp left behind can be discarded.
It takes a couple extra minutes, but well worth the time and effort for the extra asparagus flavour it will add to the soup.
Enjoy!
Equipment
- Large pot or Dutch oven
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus (1 large bunch) rinsed well, woody ends snapped off.
- 4 cups homemade or low sodium vegetable stock
- 1 small shallot peeled and dice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yukon gold potato peeled and cut into cubes
- 1-2 cups baby spinach optional
- 1-2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (or 1 tsp dried)
- freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add the diced shallot and cook until soft and translucent, but not browned, about 3-5 minutes.Transfer the cooked shallot to your blender, and set aside.
- Add the stock to the pot and bring to a boil. While you are waiting for the stock to come to a boil prepare a large bowl with ice water. Cut the tips from the asparagus spears and add them to the boiling stock and cook for 1-2 minutes, then using a slotted spoon, transfer the tips to the bowl of ice water to refresh and seal their colour. Remove from the ice water and set aside.Reserve the ice water for the asparagus spears and spinach, adding more ice if needed.
- Next add the asparagus spears to the stock and cook until just tender, and bright green. Add the spinach to the pot and cook for another 30 seconds or so, just until the spinach has wilted. Transfer the asparagus spears and spinach to the bowl of ice water. Once refreshed, drain and set aside.
- Add the diced potato to the stock and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Working in batches, transfer the stock and potatoes and asparagus spears and spinach to the blender and purée until the soup is perfectly smooth. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper, add the tarragon and blend to incorporate.
- Return the soup to the pot and warm through. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sour cream and lemon juice (optional)Serve the soup garnished with the reserved asparagus tips.