Cream of Asparagus Soup

"This soup is wonderful served hot or cold. Half & half or milk may be substituted for the cream if fat content is a concern, although it won't taste quite as good."
 
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photo by Sageca photo by Sageca
photo by Sageca
Ready In:
35mins
Ingredients:
10
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Soak and rinse asparagus.
  • Remove top 1 inch of each spear, discard tough lower part, and reserve middle portion of stalks.
  • In a 3-quart saucepan, over medium heat, sauté onion in butter for 3 to 5 minutes or until translucent.
  • Add chicken stock, asparagus tips and stems, potato, celery, thyme, and pepper.
  • Cover and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to low and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
  • Remove from heat and let cool.
  • Remove asparagus tips and set aside.
  • Place half of the soup at a time in a blender container.
  • Cover and blend at high speed for 20 to 30 seconds or until very smooth.
  • Pass through a fine sieve and return blended soup to saucepan.
  • Add reserved asparagus tips and cream (or half and half, or milk) and heat thoroughly, or refrigerate to be served cold.
  • Be sure to adjust the seasoning after you add the cream (or half& half, or milk), especially if you plan to serve it cold.

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Reviews

  1. So when I buy asparagus and prepare it for dinner and perform the "hold the bottom and bend it til it snaps" to ensure I only use the best part for dinner I am often left with a pieces up to 4-inches long and just can't seem to throw them out. So trim off the supertough part and then flash freeze them and put them into bags. And when I have several bags that seem to add up to a bunch or so of asparagus I use them to make soup. Tonight short on time and while rifling through the freezer tossing bag after bag of asparagus ends aside, I thought it was time to whip up a quick soup. So to recipezaar, oops food.com, I go and find this wonderful recipe. Followed it exactly -- love the thyme and white pepper combo -- and used the advice of substituting condensed milk for some of the cream. Okay the straining part is a bit of a pain when using the tougher ends of asparagus but other than that this soup was really good and the flash frozen asparagus ends made a lovely soup that fed a family of four for a very economical price. Thanks for posting Mille -- great recipe added to my main cookbook.
     
  2. Thank you Mille, was looking for a recipe to use some asparagus, celery and cream I had on hand. My pantry was minus the potato but it was wonderful without it. Next time I will try to make sure I have a potato. My leftover celery from a bean soup recipe was getting limp so I wanted to use it up & added a couple extra ribs. Reading your recipe I knew the flavors would be delicious and one to add to my favorites file.
     
  3. I made a modification (based ob another recipe that sound good but not quite there). 1/3-1/2 cup sour cream (I did not measure, used wbat was left in the container) plus one cup whole milk. Excellent recipe. I apologize Millie. I don't know how to follow a recipe any more! It turned out great though.
     
  4. Doubled recipe, and used 2 1/4 lbs asparagus as that is the bundle size i buy. Followed sugggestion of condensed skim milk in lieu of cream. What a treat! Making 3rd batch in 2 weeks now, we can't get enough.
     
  5. Excellent taste and texture! I made a double recipe using 2% milk, and I added 2/3 cup light sour cream (as suggested by one of the reviewers). I sautéed the celery with the onion. I thought I would have a ton left over, because a double recipe made a lot, but my husband and I ate half of it in one sitting. There's just enough left over for one more meal. Thank you for the great recipe!
     
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Tweaks

  1. So when I buy asparagus and prepare it for dinner and perform the "hold the bottom and bend it til it snaps" to ensure I only use the best part for dinner I am often left with a pieces up to 4-inches long and just can't seem to throw them out. So trim off the supertough part and then flash freeze them and put them into bags. And when I have several bags that seem to add up to a bunch or so of asparagus I use them to make soup. Tonight short on time and while rifling through the freezer tossing bag after bag of asparagus ends aside, I thought it was time to whip up a quick soup. So to recipezaar, oops food.com, I go and find this wonderful recipe. Followed it exactly -- love the thyme and white pepper combo -- and used the advice of substituting condensed milk for some of the cream. Okay the straining part is a bit of a pain when using the tougher ends of asparagus but other than that this soup was really good and the flash frozen asparagus ends made a lovely soup that fed a family of four for a very economical price. Thanks for posting Mille -- great recipe added to my main cookbook.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Gavin "Miller" Duncan passed away November 12, 2004 in Laurel, MD from complications of a "broken" heart. The outpouring of support from the Recipezaar community while his health was declining was a huge comfort to him and even "perked him up" a bit in his final month. Miller was a huge asset to Recipezaar, not only due to his incredible collection of recipes, but his participation in the forums. Miller was known for his wonderful low-sodium recipes, his warmth, and last, but not least, his wicked, dry sense of humor. Liza at Recipezaar ********************************************************* No, the picture to the left is not me. It is, in fact, a picture of famous TV Chef Jamie Oliver (a/k/a Thpit Boy)’s grandfather, the late Sir Topaz McWhacker. Note the strong family resemblance, most noticeable in the nose, eyebrows, and general lack of cleanliness Legend has it that Topaz taught Thpit everything that he knows about whacking and about only washing and combing his hair twice a year. . Instead of the trivia that many Recipezaar members have displayed on their “About Me” pages, I thought it might be a tad more helpful if I were to provide some beneficial information that you can put to good practical use either in your own kitchen or when you are watching the antics of some celebrated TV chefs. So, for your enlightenment..... . . Chairman Kaga: When he says “Ion Shff”, he really means “Iron Chef” or, perhaps, “I need a Kleenex” . Chef Paula Deen: When she says “awl”, she really means “oil”. When she says “y’all”, she really means “everyone except m’all”. When she says “bring the water to a bawl”, I have no clue what she means - I thought you could only make a baby “bawl”. And, boys and girls, you can easily Deenize the sentences that you use in your very own kitchen, such as “All y’all can bawl your corn in olive awl or wrap it in aluminum fawl”. . Emeril Lagasse: When he says “confectionery sugar’, he really means “confectioners’ sugar”. When he says “pappa-reeka”, he really means “paprika”. When he says “inside of”, he really means “in”. When he says “a little”, he really means “a lot”. Have you ever tried to count the number of times he says “a little” during any given show? Don’t – it will drive you nuts. When he says “cardamin”, he really means “cardamom”. When he says “my water don’t come seasoned”, what he really means is “I need a new joke writer”. When he says “that www dot food thing”, he really means “I flunked Computerese 101”. . Iron Chef Morimoto: When he says “Foo Netwu”, he really means “Food Network”. . Dessert Dude Jacques Torres: When he says “I going”, he really means “I am going”. (The verb “to be” has apparently been deleted from the French language.) . Spit Boy Jamie Oliver: When he says “whack it in the oven”, he really means “I am into hot, kinky stuff”. When he says “Bob’s yer uncle”, what he really means is “you’d better ask your aunt how well she REALLY knew that mailman named Robert”. When he says “rocket”, he really means “an older weapon being used in Iraq”. When he says “Fewd Netwuk”, he really means “Food Network”. . Numerous chefs: When they say “codfish” and “tunafish”, what they really mean is “cod” and “tuna”, respectively. Please note that they use these terms so that you don’t go out and buy “codanimal” or “tunavegetable” by mistake. Having said that, I have no clue as to why they don’t refer to “troutfish”, “salmonfish”, “red snapperfish”, etc., etc. . Giggly-Wiggly Rachael Ray: When she says “EVOO”, she really means “don’t use BOCO (boring old corn oil)”. When she says “a little lettuce action going on”, she really means “with only 8 minutes left in the game, cabbages are still in the lead, but lettuces are making a strong comeback”. . Two Fat Ladies: When they say “I gwing”, they really mean “I am going” or “Sorry, but we have been watching too many episodes of Jacques Torres’ show”. . Please note that the above is not all-inclusive. If there are other celebrity chef words or phrases that have you stumped, please post an "ISO" message in the discussion forums and I will find the translation for you.
 
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