Asparagus Soup #French Fridays with Dorie

I was very excited on Sunday to make Dorie's Asparagus Soup. I like making a light and healthy meal on Sundays. I think it's a rebellion against my youth when Sunday was a day for a large meat and pasta meal followed by gorging on Italian pastries. We would spend the afternoon sitting in front of the TV in an insulin stupor.

So, when I pulled out Around my French Table and started to read the recipe.
"Using a vegetable peeler, peel the asparagus from about an inch..."

WHAT, I have 2 1/2 pounds of asparagus?

"Bundle up the trimmings in a piece of cheesecloth and tie it like a hobo's sack..."

Where is the hobo train? I'm hopping on it right now. There is no way I'm doing all this "technique" for a Sunday soup.

In order to keep my sanity and my Sunday rest time this is what I did:

Asparagus Soup

Inspired by Dorie Greenspan's Asparagus Soup

by Diane Balch

simplelivingeating.com

preparation time 10 minutes cook time 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of butter

1 onion chopped

1 shallot chopped

2 medium leeks just the white and light green chopped

1 garlic clove chopped

2.5 pounds of asparagus stems removed, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

3-4 cups of chicken broth

1/4 cup of creme fraiche

1 tablespoon of sherry

Directions:

1) In a large dutch oven or sauce pan on medium high heat the oil and butter.

Saute the vegetables putting them in the pot in order of their thickness and cook time: onion, shallot, leeks, garlic, then asparagus, salt and pepper. Cook vegetables until they wilt.

2) Add 3 cups of chicken broth or enough to cover all of the vegetables. Bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to medium low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until asparagus is soft.

3) In small batches puree the soup in a blender.

4) Once soup is pureed warm it up and check that it has enough salt and pepper. Mix creme fraiches and sherry into the soup just before you are ready to serve it.

asparagus, asparagus soup, french recipe, spring recipe

My family enjoyed the soup except for my son who is back on his "anti-greens" kick, (probably polluted at school.) He's get over it, yet again!

We all thought it was a tasty soup, but nothing spectacular. It wasn't until I added the creme fraiche and the dash of sherry that it had any complexity.

If I were to make an asparagus soup without a recipe, I would roast the asparagus and then add them to a single sautéed onion or shallot. I think the leeks and other vegetables overpowered the asparagus. But all in all it was an appetizing soup and a relaxing afternoon.

Note: As a member of French Friday's with Dorie I am not allowed to print the recipe. I invite you to take a look at this wonderful cookbook "Around My French Table" if you are interested in this or any other recipe I review.