I never cease to be amazed at the beauty of simplicity when it comes to cooking something delicious and satisfying. In this Asparagus Soup recipe, five basic ingredients (not including the salt and pepper!) come together quickly to provide a silky smooth soup that can serve as a first course (does anybody eat in courses any more?) or the centerpiece of your meal.
Obviously the star of this show is the asparagus and therefore choosing the asparagus is really where this recipe starts. Asparagus is sold in a variety of thicknesses and there is a misconception that the very thin asparagus is the most tender and flavorful. This is not true! Any size can deliver great flavor and texture. Probably the more important factors to look for when purchasing asparagus are a bright rather than dull green color (dull color could indicate it’s old), uniformity in size (so they cook at relatively the same rate), tight skin (no wrinkles or dryness which both indicate asparagus is not fresh, nice tight firm heads. Oftentimes when you purchase asparagus it is standing in ice or a shallow bin of water, both of which help the asparagus to retain its’ flavor. Once you bring your asparagus home, if you are not going to use it immediately I would suggest trimming a bit off the bottom of the stems (like a 1/2 inch or so) and storing it upright in your fridge in a container with about an inch of water. Alternatively you could wrap the fresh cut ends in wet paper towel, place the bunch in a plastic bag and store in your vegetable drawer.
Prepping the asparagus for the recipe includes both rinsing and trimming, which is important as the ends of the asparagus can be quite fibrous and woody, meaning they’re horrible to eat! My favorite method of doing this is the bend and snap, taking a stalk between thumbs and forefingers, holding it near the base, and simply bending it until it snaps. I find this unexplainably fun and kind of therapeutic. The theory behind this method is that the stalk will naturally snap apart at the perfect location dividing the woody base from the tender stalk. In reality though, I’ve found that this method can cause a lot of waste and you can mistakenly discard some perfectly good asparagus, and since this veggie is rarely cheap, this is not good!! A better and more efficient method (but somehow not quite as fun in my mind!) is to simply cut the stalks where the white and green meet, discarding the woody base and keeping the all green stalk. (In the photo above, right at the base of the spoon you can see a whitish-purplish piece that somehow I allowed to sneak into the saucepan! And sure enough, it was woody and tough and needed to be thrown away.)
Cooking this soup literally takes just a couple of steps. Saute the onion until soft, add the asparagus and allowing it to cook about 5 minutes and then adding the broth, bringing it to a simmer and continue simmering for 15-20 minutes until the asparagus is completely tender. A little bit of finishing (pureeing and whisking in the yogurt) and you are ready to experience a taste of Spring!
Mom’s Helpful Hints
- This soup doubles easily and freezes well so go ahead and buy that asparagus on the BOGO sale!
- Trying to avoid dairy? Replace the butter with olive oil and sub the Greek yogurt with 1/4 cup coconut cream mixed with 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh asparagus
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Trim the tough ends from the asparagus and cut stalks into pieces approximately 1 inch long. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Add diced onion and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add asparagus pieces, salt and pepper and cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes.
- Add broth, bring to a simmer and continue simmering 15-20 minutes or until asparagus are completely tender.
- Puree soup with an immersion blender, alternatively you can puree in a blender or Cuisinart. Return soup to sauce pan if necessary, and over low heat whisk in yogurt until fully incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
you sure you got the quantity of chicken broth right?