Peel the lower 2/3 of thick asparagus stalks and cut the fiberouos root ends off the asparagus stalks.
Keep the ends and peels...
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Simmer the asparagus peels and stems till you get a nice flavored stock. 30-60 minutes should do it.
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Dice the potatoes, onions and celery in a medium dice, line up the asparagus and cut it into 3 or 4 sections like so.
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Measure out the Chicken-Asparagus broth and the half and half
Mix the flour into the half and half |
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Measure out the salt and dill
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Heat the olive oil and saute the celery and onions till tender. |
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Add the broth and the asparagus, onions, potatoes, and spices
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Simmer for 15 minutes or so till the potatoes and asparagus are tender. |
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Add the half and half and flour mix and cook till thickened.
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Use a hand held immersion blender or put the soup in batches in the blender,
*** note cover tightly with lid of blender, then rag and your hand holding firmly or the pressure from the hot soup will go right out the blender. |
I also to add flavor, put the stems and peelings in a blender with some of the stock, half and half or water,
puree for a good minute in a blender and strain into the soup.
There are many ways to garnish this soup
Here I topped it with chili oil, sour cream and chives. |
Asparagus and Strawberry Soup
One way to enhance your asparagus soup is to add strawberry sauce or a puree to add a nice contrast in flavor.
I floated some small dumplings in the soup and topped them with a strawberry sauce.
The dumpling keeps the strawberry sauce from sinking.
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Asparagus Miso Soup
Here you can just use the same ingredients without any half and half, add carrots and other vegetables and use
miso to help flavor it and perhaps a dash of tamari and/or sesame oil.
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