Roasted Asparagus Soup

By bronxie

Ingredients

• 2 lbs asparagus, trimmed
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 lg or 2 sm carrots, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2-3 tbsp chicken or vegetable base
• 8-10 cups water
• olive oil
• creamy feta, crumbled (garnish)
• kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss asparagus with a liberal amount of olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper. Place seasoned asparagus on a sheet pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes, until the asparagus are tender and starting to caramelize on the bottom. Allow the asparagus to cool until you are able to handle it. Set a few asparagus spears aside to use as garnishes in the soup, then roughly chop the rest of the asparagus.

While the asparagus is cooling, preheat a large pot over medium heat. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil to the pot. Once the pot and oil are hot, add onions, celery, and carrots. Sweat the mirapoix over medium heat until the veggies are tender and the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the red pepper flaked, stir. Allow the red pepper flakes to cook in the oil for a few seconds then add the water, chicken base, and roughly chopped asparagus. Bring the soup up to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the soup for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After about 30 minutes puree the soup. I recommend using an immersion blender so you don’t need to transfer the soup into another container, but a standard blender or food processor will work as well. Just work in batches. Thoroughly puree the soup until there are no chunks of veggies and just one homogeneous mixture. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning as necessary with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. For a smoother consistency, strain the soup through a chinos or fine mesh sieve. Serve warm with a roasted asparagus spear and a small crumble of creamy feta.