The Asparagus Soup of Dreams
Once you try it, your pee will never be the same.
by Erin Henderson
One of the first "fancy" recipes I learned to make was asparagus soup.
This was the early aughts and asparagus in Ontario was really just becoming "a thing." A vegetable that was sort of, if you know, you know.
You may also like: Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tart
I used a recipe for a "bisque" – so, très chic – from the Canadian cookbook, Recipes from Wine Country by Tony DeLuca. At the time he was the executive chef at what was then Hillebrand Winery, which rebranded some time ago as Trius. Published in 2004, his recipes were the height of sophistication – goat cheese lollipops, shrimp and scallops in roasted garlic cream sauce, smoked chicken pasta – thrillingly stylish in that casual-fancy, wine country way.
Still a novice in the kitchen, I distinctly remember the asparagus soup recipe taking up a good portion of my day, using many pots, and generally creating a huge mess. Looking back, I'm not sure what the problem was other than my own fumbling inexperience.
But the taste. The soup was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Rich with cream and butter, yet light and inviting; silky smooth and deeply satisfying.
Despite the considerable labour, the final product sealed the deal: I would make this recipe every spring when asparagus popped their pointy heads out of the sandy soil.
You may also like: How to Pair Wine with Spring Vegetables
Fast forward a few decades and I have, indeed, made the soup every spring. Many, many times during the spring. As recipes have wont to do, DeLuca's methods have fallen away from the soup I make, and my preferences have slowly crept in. I've streamlined the process to one pot (praise be) and replaced DeLuca's smoky spices with a good dollop of white miso – my secret weapon for just about everything I make.
Now the soup, which has morphed so considerably in my care that it barely resembles the 90's bisque in the book, is whipped up in less than an hour – including the 20-minute, hands off simmering time. It's just as delicious though, hopefully DeLuca would agree.
Asparagus Soup
This soup can be served room temperature or piping hot. And it makes a fabulous little passed hors d'oeuvre, with just the teensiest nod to the glam of the early aughts, served in espresso cups, at spring garden parties.
Makes: about 1½ litres
Chef level: easier than DeLuca's (laughing emoji face. No shade to Chef Tony DeLuca)
Special equipment: high-speed blender
Ingredients:
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ cups onion, roughly chopped
- 2 cups potato, peeled and rougly chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 fat cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable if keeping vegetarian)
- 1 large bunch (about 350g) in-season asparagus, woody ends snapped off and roughly chopped, reserve tips
- ½ cup 35% cream
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar, optional
How to Make It:
- Melt butter and oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.
- When butter is frothy add onion and potato, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper, and allow to soften stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.
- Add garlic and stir through cooking until fragrant – about a minute.
- Pour in white wine stir again, loosening anything stuck on the bottom.
- Pour in chicken stock.
- Add the miso and chopped asparagus stocks (reserve the tips until the end) and bring the soup to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook until the asparagus stocks are soft, about 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
- Working in batches, ladle soup into a high speed blender, pureeing for two minutes until completely smooth (be sure to leave the centre of the lid open! Hot liquid and closed blenders equal diaster.)
- Pour the purée through a fine mesh sieve into a clean pot.
- Continue until all soup has been puréed and strained.
- Bring to a moderate heat, add in the reserved tips, and pour in the cream, stirring through.
- If the soup needs a bit of brightening, add in the vinegar.
- Adjust with more salt and pepper, if needed and serve with a dollop of crème fraiche or goat cheese and a few cracks of pepper.
Wine Pairing
A classic pairing for asparagus soup is Sauvignon Blanc. The herbal note in the wine matches the verdant flavour of the vegetable, in addition to Sauv Blanc's bright acidity complimenting the creamy richness of the soup.
