Love it or hate it, it's asparagus season! Asparagus reminds me of my childhood and of Easter. Our family celebrates Easter at my maternal grandma's house. Grandma Betty serves scalloped ham and potatoes, crescent rolls or dinner rolls, asparagus (white when she can find it), and a huge bowl of fruit salad adorned with whole strawberries and slices of kiwi. For dessert, she used to serve a chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting but more recently has started serving pie. In honor of my grandma (today is not only Easter but also her birthday), I'll share a recipe for that one food I always hated to see on her Easter table: asparagus!
Before we proceed, a fun fact about me is that I can't stand foods that, for whatever reason, remind me that I've eaten them once I'm done eating them. Examples include garlic, corn, kidney beans, Chipotle's regrettably delicious hot salsa, and last but not least, asparagus. People get uncomfortable talking about asparagus-pee, but it's serious and it caused me to abstain from eating asparagus for a long time. However, C's two favorite vegetables are asparagus and Brussels sprouts, so I've had to get past my aversion to asparagus.
Thankfully, I no longer have to hold my breath in the bathroom. For those of you who, like me, were blessed with the ability to smell asparagus-pee, I'm going to let you in on my little sciencey-secret, Dilution. Dilution, dilution, dilution! The more water you drink, the more you dilute your urine. The lower the concentration of the volatile compounds, the harder it is to smell. Also, I've noted that the tip with the buds is the culprit. If I just eat the shoot, I have no problems. Now, I challenge you to eat enough asparagus this spring to test my theory and report back so that I can expand my data set from an 'n' of one.
With a bunch of asparagus in the fridge and red potatoes that were starting to turn, I decided to make soup. One of the links I gave you in my VegOut! Challenge post was for Kathryn Hill's Rutabaga Chipotle Soup (I made it as stated, but with 2 oz. cream cheese instead of 2 cups of cream). That recipe was my inspiration for this soup: an asparagus soup that's creamy from a starchy tuber instead of fatty cream!
Objective
Make a creamy asparagus soup without cream.
Materials
1/2 lb. asparagus, washed and trimmed (or use a full pound)
olive oil
1 tbsp. butter (or olive oil)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 small red potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper
Garlic toasts, to serve (optional):
baguette
large clove of garlic
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Lay the asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 8-10 minutes or until the asparagus shoots begin to soften. When the asparagus is done cooking, cut off the top inch and set aside. Cut the remaining shoots into one inch-long pieces to add to the broth.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook a few minutes longer. Add the potatoes, asparagus shoots, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft.
3. Ladle most of the broth into the jar of a blender. Add half of the potato chunks, onion, and asparagus. Puree until smooth. Pour back into the pot. Stir in the asparagus tops. Stir in the cumin and season to taste with salt and pepper. If you feel like it's missing something, try adding a pinch of garlic powder. Keep warm while you prepare the garlic toasts.
4. To prepare the garlic toasts, turn the oven to broil. Slice the baguette into 1/2" thick rounds. On a broiler safe sheet, toast the baguettes. Slice of clove of garlic in half and rub each toast with the cut edge. Serve warm with the soup.
Results
Incredibly creamy or maybe better described as velvety. Tastes like asparagus with a hint of garlic.
Discussion and Future Directions
This isn't a spectacular recipe for wowing guests. Rather, this is a recipe for warming up on a cold spring day. It's a way to savor spring's bounty on those miserably cold days that in your heart you know to expect but nevertheless hope won't ever come. If you want to make it spectacular, stir in an ounce or two of cream cheese before you puree the soup. That will make it richer.
I like my soups a little chunkier so that there is some texture. Feel free to puree the whole soup if you prefer smooth cream soups. If you're going to puree it, feel free to add all of the asparagus to the pot at the beginning (or save just a few tips for garnish). Now, be sure to drink a full glass of water (a tall glass, not a short one) with your soup. See if my dilution method worked, and report back!
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