Cream-less Cream of Asparagus Soup
An easy cream-less cream of asparagus that brings the essence of spring to the table.
Ingredients
- 3 cups water or vegetable stock
- 2 bunches asparagus
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- ½ cup dry white wine
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Dash of Nutmeg
- Zest of ½ lemon
Instructions
Prep Asparagus:
- Bring the water (or stock) to a boil in a medium pot.
- Blench the asparagus. Cook in the boiling water, and once the color changes to bright green, take out of the water and immediately immerse in ice water. Avoid overcooking to maintain the bright green color of the asparagus.
- Cut 1½" off the top of the asparagus stems and keep for garnish.
Prep the soup:
- In a different pot, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add chopped onion and saute till translucent.
- Add garlic and thyme and stir for a few seconds.
- Add white wine, bring to a boil, and cook the wine down a bit.
- Add 1½ cups of the asparagus cooking water and bring to a boil.
Combine:
- Using a Vitamix or food processor puree the blenched asparagus with the hot liquid and salt, pepper, nutmeg. Add more liquid, if desired, till desired consistency is achieved.
- Serve warm, room temperature or cold, garnished with the asparagus tips, lemon zest and fresh thyme. Drizzle a little thyme or basil infused olive oil for an even more artistic effect.
Notes
- If you would like the soup even thicker feel free to add some peeled, chopped potatoes when adding the white wine, and boil till potatoes are soft. Continue as described above.
- If using a food processor, filter the soup through a sieve to keep the woody part of the asparagus out of the finished product