It’s another great year for our asparagus crop. I haven’t made asparagus soup in a long time, and it was a great way to use the 3 pound harvest I had in the fridge. There are so many variations you can make with the ingredients, but fresh asparagus is always the star. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, they make a delicious thick soup. You can make it strictly vegetarian, or add a pork product for the “I gotta have meat” bunch.
Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pork hocks, bacon, or chunks of ham
- 4 TBSP butter
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup white wine or vermouth
- 6 cups broth (vegetable, chicken, or beef)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 cup cream or small cubes of cream cheese (8 oz)
- 2 medium potatoes, grated
- 3 lbs asparagus, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Crumbled feta
- Chopped green onions
- Cooked and crumbled bacon
Toppings (optional)
Instructions
- Cook meat, if using any. I used fresh pork hocks that I browned first, then cooked in broth until tender, before combining it with the rest of the ingredients. However, you could chop and cook bacon, then proceed to add ingredients, or add chunks of ham while you're cooking. Also, if you want to add smoked pork hocks or smoked turkey, it would be delicious.
- Melt butter in a stock pot, and add onion carrots, and celery. I finely chopped all the veggies in the food processor. Cook veggies until very soft. Add wine, and let it evaporate almost completely.
- Add broth, bay leaves, thyme, and smoked paprika.
- Add cream or cream cheese.
- Stir in potato, asparagus, salt and pepper.
- Simmer until potato is cooked and asparagus is very tender.
- I left ours rustic, but you could puree it in batches, if you want cream soup.
- Serve with one or more of the toppings.