Asparagus Soup

Ingredients and Instructions

1. Make the stock by snapping the ends off the rinsed asparagus and add to a pot along with the peels from the onion and garlic (that you’ll be using in the soup) along with 6-8 cups of water. Feel free to add a few peppercorns, parsley sprigs, and whatnot while you’re add it. Read more details on making veggie stock are here; this is a simpler Asparagus officinalis version, which includes the tough asparagus ends and uses fewer other ingredients like veggie peels. (I later added parsley, which I found in the fridge, along with a few peppercorns and bay leaf.)

Forty minutes later the water has extracted the nutrients and flavor from the veggies to form a delightful asparagus-flavored stock.

2. Roast the asparagus as described here while the stock is simmering, (Omit the lemon zest for this recipe.) Add a few bulbs of whole garlic alongside the asparagus, too. Just a drizzle of olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper is all you need.

Roasting garlic really brings out the sweetness and flavor. Nice caramelization, right?

3. Sauté chopped onion in olive oil in a large soup pot until translucent, about 5-7 minutes over medium heat, and season with salt and pepper

4. Chop the asparagus, saving a few tops for garnish, and toss the rest into the soup pot along with the garlic and stock. Bring to a boil and simmer 10-15 minutes or so.

5. Blend to create a homogeneous texture. (Optional: save some chopped asparagus to include at the end if you prefer a chunky soup.) The soup is looking good, but we still need to add our spices and a few more ingredients.

6. Season with dry mustard (~1 tsp), white or black pepper, salt (as needed), and a few grates of nutmeg. Cream and freshly grated parmigiana reggiano add body, texture, and overall deliciousness; add a little at a time until the desired texture and taste is achieved.

7. Garnish with a few of the reserved asparagus tops, homemade whole grain croutons (I’ll provide a recipe one of these days), and a few grates of the cheese. Don’t forget a grind of fresh pepper, too!

Cooking options. I love using roasted vegetables in soups, which in my extensive soup-making experience creates a tastier result than either steaming or boiling. However, either of these methods can be employed if you like, and the soup will still be quite lovely. If you boiled the asparagus, you’d can including the cooking water in the soup, too. Steaming has the advantage of creating a lively green hue, which doesn’t quite happen to the same degree when roasting (i.e., the soup will generally be grayer). You’ll find this crazy, perhaps, but I sometimes use a combination of roasted and steamed to achieve the best of both flavor and color. I say all of this so you are aware of the various cooking options, which take different amounts of time; select the method that fits your schedule and tastes.