Cream Of Asparagus Soup

Source: Awesome Chef Recipes

Recipe by Brian Johnson
Most cream of asparagus soup recipes call for a good deal of cream, for this soup recipe however I have scaled the cream back in flavor of a more healthy approach to this classic recipe.

2 pounds fresh asparagus
8 cups chicken stock (or canned chicken broth)
2 onions diced
1 large Idaho russet potato peeled and diced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon whole butter
1/3 cup of flour
salt and pepper to taste

Clean the asparagus by removing the woody stems. Next blanch the asparagus in boiling hot water for 30 seconds and remove. Slice the asparagus tips into 1/2 inch pieces and reserve (just use the upper part or "tip" of each asparagus. Take the remaining blanched asparagus and roughly chop and reserve.

In a large soup of stock pot combine the whole butter with the diced yellow onion and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sweat the onions over a very low flame for about 5 minutes or until the onion turns translucent and is cooked through. Next add 1/2 cup of water and the 1/3 cup of flour to the onion and combine well. This step will create the base of the soup and will act as a "thinking agent". Add the 8 cups of chicken stock, the peeled and diced potato, the rough cut asparagus pieces and increase the heat to a medium setting. Cook for 45 minutes over a medium flame. Next add the heavy whipping cream and puree the soup. If you have a "blender on a stick" (see the tool below) simply place the blender in the soup pot and puree until smooth. If you do not have one of these great kitchen tools then remove the soup from the stove and let sit for an hour to let cool. Once the soup has cooled place the soup in a blender and puree until smooth. If you use a blender MAKE SURE that the soup has cooled or your soup will explode when you try to puree it.

Once the soup has been pureed return to the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings if needed with salt and pepper.

To server the soup simply pour the soup into a cup or bowl and garnish with the asparagus tips and server.

Servers 4 - 6