Haven't been doing much cooking that challenges anyone lately, but the wife wanted something special for dinner when she gets home from her first day on her new job (I'm next on the job, I feel it)
My first ever Creamy Asparagus Soup:
Here are most of the ingredients:
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Cut up 2 lbs. of Asparagus into about 1 1/2" pieces (I cut off 1" of the bottoms and toss those), peel and cube 2 potatoes, peel and cube 1 large Shallot and 1 large Onion, crush and dice 5 Garlic cloves...The salt is a mixture of Hawaiian Chile Salt (Ron & Alison) and Kosher salt, pepper and Thyme, Rosemary and Butter, the juice of 1/2 Lemon and 4 cups of stock.
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Olive oil and 1/2 stick of Butter in the pot:
(http://i743.photobucket.com/albums/xx76/fresnotim/DSC00988_zpswzpj3yee.jpg) (http://s743.photobucket.com/user/fresnotim/media/DSC00988_zpswzpj3yee.jpg.html)
Add onions and spice to taste, cook Med High for 8 minutes +/- (don't burn the onions):
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Add garlic and cook aout another 5 minutes:
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Add potatoes and the juice of 1/2 lemon (to deglaze the pot), stir well:
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Season the potatoes and add 4 cups of stock:
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Boil the stock, potatoes, garlic & onions until the potatoes are fork tender (about 8 minutes):
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Add Asparagus and 2 cups of hot water,then bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover for about 5 minutes +/-, then check the Asparagus. You should be able to smash with a spoon but still a bit firm:
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I spoon off the foam, this takes away the bitterness:
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Turn off heat and remove pot, get your blender and fill her up ( do this slowly "It's Hot") :
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My blender works very well and it took about 4 minutes on high speed after a few pulses to get things started. I also used a towel on the top of my blender so I didn't burn my hands. Once you get you soup to a puree you will need to pour it through a strainer to get out some of the fibers:
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Back into the pot she goes...Nice ;D
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At this point you want to slowly raise the temperature so as to not burn the soup but get it just before boiling, then we will add 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup Half N Half, and a pat of Butter...This where it gets good ;D ;
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(http://i743.photobucket.com/albums/xx76/fresnotim/DSC01008_zpsvuz6a1fw.jpg) (http://s743.photobucket.com/user/fresnotim/media/DSC01008_zpsvuz6a1fw.jpg.html)
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Simmer on low for about 5 minutes and slowly stir the soup together. Next I put a little bit of heavy cream and Lemon Zest in a dish and whipped it a bit with a fork to get a little bit of air in the cream:
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Fill your bowl with soup, add a bit of your Lemon Zest and cream, lightly stir the cream on top on your soup with a toothpick and hit with a pinch of Chile powder for a kick.
Money Shot
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Tim, that looks very good, also one of my wife's favorite soup. Next time, I will try it your way.
Thanks for sharing.
Sal
Tim-Chili cook-off. Yea! Dominick
That is a beautiful pot of deliciousness and the money shot has me drooling.
Lot of work for that soup and worth every minute from what I see. ;)
Big Tim!
Looks fantastic!!!!
Put me down for 2 quarts! Checks in the mail :o
Wayne
Wow, looks amazing...looks like I now have a reason to buy a strainer :D