We are enjoying the bounty of asparagus, the botanical herb we use in culinary applications. It is hard to imagine the ancient history of this herb dating back 2000 years. After being foraged wild, its cultivation soon took hold in Greek and Roman times as early as the 1st century AD. As a specialty, it is said the King Louis XIV of France cultivated 6, 000 species in his greenhouses at the Palais de Versailles. As we know, asparagus made its way to North America and is one of our iconic spring vegetables.
To store, put asparagus in a container of 2 inches of water covered with a plastic bag. Asparagus can be preserved in a variety of ways: Dehydration, pressure canning, blanched and frozen, and pickled. I am partial to fresh, pickled, or in soups. I use 500 ml wide-mouth jars for pickling. If you do that, you will trim the asparagus to fit into the jars which inevitably leaves good asparagus chunks for soup. For pickling, use a cold pack method meaning place raw asparagus in the jars with tips down to protect them. Pickled asparagus is a wonderful snack or as an addition to a salad.
Recently, my friend brought over asparagus soup. It was fantastic! My friend has given permission for me to share the recipe she created. It is wonderful chilled but also good warmed or at room temperature.
If you love asparagus, there are many ways to use and preserve this nutritious vegetable: Canned, frozen, pickled, dehydrated or in soups. Try any way you like to use it and keep it for the winter months.
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Asparagus Soup
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Loading...Ingredients
- 1 large leek, white part only, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped shallots
- 3 cups asparagus pieces cleaned and chopped in 1-inch pieces
- 1 litre chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup 35% cream (whipping or heavy cream)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
In a heavy pot or Dutch oven, sauté leeks and shallots in butter and olive oil for about 3 minutes to soften. Add asparagus, broth, water and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until tender. Cool to room temperature. Puree the mixture in a blender, food processor or food mill until it is smooth. If you are serving right away, add the cream, adjust seasoning and top chilled soup with lightly steamed asparagus tips.
If you are freezing the soup, do not add cream until you are serving it. Freeze soup with 1 inch headspace.
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