Bowl of Asparagus Soup
(click to enlarge)

Asparagus Soup


Spain   -   Sopa de Esparragos
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3 cups
**
1-1/8 hrs
Yes		 Most Asparagus Soups are disappointing - this one is not. A substantial soup, it will serve 3 to 4 as a soup course, or two for a light lunch, with some bread and beer.




10
5
2
3
2
2
tt
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oz
oz
cl
T
t
c

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Asparagus (1)
Onion
Garlic
Manchego Cheese (2)  
Olive Oil ExtV
Stock (3)
Salt
-- Garnish (4)

Besides being tasty, this soup is low fat, low carb,vegetarian, and gluten free. It can be made ahead and reheated.

Prep   -   (25 min)
  1. Peel tough ends of ASPARAGUS (cut off any that are just too tough and fibrous). Weight is after trimming and peeling. Cut the Asparagus into 1/2 inch lengths.
  2. Dice ONION fine.
  3. Crush GARLIC with the side of your prep knife.
  4. Grate CHEESE.
Run   -   (45 min)
  1. In a suitable pan (a 2 quart sauté is perfect), heat Olive Oil and fry Onions over moderate heat until just translucent.
  2. Stir in Garlic and Asparagus, then the Stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
  3. Take off the heat and run in a Blender or Food Processor until smooth.
  4. Clean the pan and put the Soup back in. Stir in Cheese, and Salt if needed (depends on how salty your stock is). Reheat stirring over gentle heat.
  5. Serve hot, garnished as desired. Accompany with bread.
NOTES:

  1. Asparagus, Green:

      Moderate size, fresh and very green is best for color and flavor. Weight given is "recipe ready" after removing tough ends (but only the very toughest), and peeling the rest of the thick end. You will need to start with at least a pound.

  2. Manchego Cheese:

      This is a fairly common Spanish hard cheese. The pattern recipe calls for it in the ingredients, but in the steps it calls for "Parmesan", so we can assume that's a suitable substitute.

  3. Stock:

      Vegetable stock for Vegetarian, or Chicken Stock if you don't care about that. The photo specimen was made with two cups of water and a teaspoon of Vegeta powder, and it was fine.

  4. Garnish:

      A few cooked Asparagus Tips is nice, or Croutons, or chopped Herbs of choice.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
dov_aspr1 190424 sbr201 (pdf)   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.