Creamy Asparagus Soup

By neysa

Ingredients

• 2 lbs asparagus, trimmed of woody stem bottoms
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped)
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• Leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp dry vermouth
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 45mins
Adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

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Melt the butter in a 4 to 5 quart pot on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped asparagus (not the spear tips) to the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 5 minutes.

Add the broth, water, and thyme to the pot. Increase the heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, until the asparagus are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, stir in the chopped parsley.

While the soup is cooking, blanche the asparagus tips in a small pot of boiling, salted water (about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt per quart of water), until the tips are just tender, about 2-4 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus. Drain. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. (If you use an upright blender, work in small batches, fill no more than a third the blender bowl at a time, and hold down the lid while blending.) For a creamy texture, if you want, press the puréed soup through a sieve or food mill. Stir in the cream. Stir in the vermouth and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

We are still a few weeks away from local asparagus, but I'm collecting recipes and getting ready! I love to use an immersion blender for soups like that, so I can puree them right in the pot.

I save up all the woody ends of asparagus in the freezer during asparagus season and then when it's nearly over, use them to make an initial stock for asparagus soup. I discard them after making the stock and then proceed as you do, albeit using a different recipe.

For a healthy snack, I cook asparagus just for 3-4 minutes, then rinse them in cold water. Put the spears in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and add some salt. Keep in the refrigerator so when you want something to eat but don't know what, have a nice cold, crispy, delicious asparagus spear!

Fabulous!!! I roasted the aparagus before adding to the both. Delicious. This recipe is quick and easy

I skipped the vermouth and used regular cream instead of heavy cream. It was delicious. This is very easy to make, glad I found the recipe.

Can't wait to start my soup. I have three different kinds of asparagus, one being very large and purple. My husband doesn't like the big ones so I cut them thin and add to my salad every night.

This is my first time commenting here, although I've run across this site a few times in the past. Very delicious soup! I cut it in half since I only had one bunch of asparagus (which, by the way, were clearly marked "Product of Peru", even though it's spring - haha!). The only changes I made were to leave out the vermouth, since I had none, and to toss in a few chopped button mushrooms that needed to be used with the onion. I would recommend using an immersion blender--handy in keeping the dishes to a minimum. :) Thanks for a great recipe, I trusted this site with my first time making asparagus soup and was not disappointed.

I cooked it for my cooking class one time but I also added a few chopped walnuts which I think made it taste a little different and good.

This was my first time making a creamy soup on my own, and it turned out quite good. Things I changed: halved the butter in the beginning, skipped the vermouth and lemon juice, and used italian seasoning (which contains thyme) instead of fresh thyme since that's what I had on hand. I also don't know if I had a full two pounds of asparagus (just grabbed a bunch in the store without weighing it, and I discarded the woody ends without knowing if that was correct to do). Anyway, it turned out delicious and was easy to make.

In order to make a vegan version of this soup, I replaced the heavy cream with about 2 Tbsp Tofutti cream cheese and 1/3 cup Tofutti sour cream. I also omitted the vermouth because we don't keep that on hand. It was delicious, the best part of our Thanksgiving meal!

I made the soup as instructed, though I used a dash of dry white wine instead of vermouth. One big caution....let the soup cool a bit before pouring into the blender for puree-ing. (Step 4) I cracked my blender jar when I poured in the hot soup. Made a big mess....

Now have to call Black & Decker for a replacement.

I saw this recipe and knew I just HAD to try it out, being a huge fan of asparagus and soup (a win-win combo for me). Following the advice of some commenters, I threw in the ends of the asparagus (the "woody" parts) into a pot of chicken stock and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I chopped up the rest of my veggies and softened the onions then asparagus as per the instructions (make sure to discard the asparagus ends from the stock before adding it to the veggies). I tossed in a bay leaf with all of that while it simmered for 15 min. Removed the leaf before pureeing it all, portioned off about half for freezing (do this before adding the cream) then put the rest back in the pot. I used half&half instead of heavy cream and didn't use the vermouth at all. It was delicious and better than I imagined--make this soup even more delicious by topping it with some shredded cheese and having some crunchy bread on the side. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

An impulse purchase of a 2.5 kg (5½ lbs) bag of mixed Asparagus from our local Suffolk grower has prompted me , an inexperience cook , to ask about making my favourite soup as per your delicious sounding recipe and then freezing it . Should I leave out the cream ( or any other ingredient )and add it/them when the defrozen soup is heated up for eating later ?

I have made this soup several times delicious. I made to the part of adding the cream and have frozen it. Great over the winter for spring soup. I have also made it with the heavy cream and fat free half and half. If you freeze it just add the cream when reheating

This soup was a disappointment to me, which is a first! Usually your recipes are always home runs. In my opinion, there's way too much broth in the recipe. It makes for a very thin soup with weak asparagus flavor. If I were to make it again, I would cut the broth by half.

I'm currently looking for ideas of what might be added to the soup to make it more flavorful.

I've made your recipe half a dozen times since I stumbled upon it this past spring. I was shocked at how much the vermouth brought the flavor of the soup together! Without the vermouth, the soup is just ok. After adding the vermouth... the soup is fantastic! Great recipe!

I make a killer cream of asparagus that doesn't use cream, or any dairy. Here's how to do it:

I saute the asparagus with garlic, lots of it, whole pieces lightly crushed. When it's almost done, I add zest from one lemon and some lemon juice then just let it cool off.

Then I saute potatoes chopped in small cubes (half an inch let's say) with butter and onion. I add laddles of vegetable broth, similar to making a risoto. This develops the starch in the potatos, so when they're done you also get a very cream potato soup y liquid.

Then I simply mix the asparagus, potatoes and vegetable broth and mix with the hand-helod blender. My wife always asks if I'm sure there's no cream in it (not that there's anything wrong with cream...)

I cooked a creamy asparagus soup some weeks ago but I added some pasta. I think using dry vermouth is a very nice idea so next time I'll add this ingredient to the soup. ; )

This is somewhat like I make it, but I use the trim ends to the point where the sharp knife will no longer cut through it. I cook it down in the same water in which I cooked the trimmed asparagus until it is softened. Then I whir it in my VitaMix until completely pureed. You could probably do this in a food processor as well. Pour into a pan and make the additions to the soup as per called for (or what ever is in your fridge.) Love this soup and it so good for you.

Hah! Careful placement with my delicate fingers. ~Elise

Great idea adding vermouth! I love making creamy soups - it's been an obsession ever since I got a good blender. I've never tried making asparagus soup and your recipe looks simple and delicious!

love the soup! thank you for your great efforts especially during vacation. is there a way to learn where you got or who makes those great flower petal shaped soup bowls? thanks...

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