Asparagus Soup

Now that spring is in full swing, asparagus are everywhere. One of the big problems with cooking them however is the waste. If you roast or sauté them, you end up throwing away a significant portion either by peeling them or having to break off the woody stems. Here’s a solution for total asparagus exploitation – soup. With this dish you can serve an asparagus themed meal. This very simple recipe will taste as good as anything you get in a 3 or four star joint – I promise.

INGREDIENTS

- 1½ pound of asparagus woody stems and/or peels washed well and roughly cut
- 3 cups of chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of 2% milk (you can even use skim milk but you have to cook it a little longer to reduce the stock but forget cream – too unctuous for such a light veggie)
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1 minced green onion
- Pinch white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons of shredded or shaved parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat chicken stock to a simmer and dump in asparagus, garlic and green onion.
2. Simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Pour mixture into a blender or cuisinart and whip until smooth (you may need to do it in 2 batches.
4. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl – this takes some work because the asparagus become thick and stringy so just work the mixture through the sieve with the back of a spoon.
5. Pour contents back into pot and add milk, pepper and salt. Cook at a simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Add cheese and furiously whip with a whisk until the cheese melts into the soup – about 2 minutes. Inevitably some cheese will stick to the whisk but don’t worry because you are really just going for the parmesan flavor.

Serves 2-3 persons

©Paul Mones