By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(311)
- Notes
- Read community notes
By now, those of you who follow my work have seen a number of simple pureed soups that begin with onions, potatoes and leeks. Here’s another one. The beautiful pale green soup is all the more fragrant because I use the asparagus trimmings for the broth.
Featured in: Asparagus: Spring’s Most Versatile Vegetable
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves six
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 4garlic cloves, halved
- Green of 1 large leek (optional)
- Salt to taste
- ¼teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- Trimmed stems from 1 pound asparagus, cut in 1-inch lengths
- 2quarts water
- 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1leek, white and light green parts only, sliced and cleaned optional
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 2garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 2medium-size russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
- 1½quarts asparagus broth (above)
- A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf and a few sprigs each parsley and thyme
- 1pound asparagus, woody ends snapped off, sliced about 1 inch thick, plus 12 whole stalks, woody ends snapped off, for the garnish
- 2teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Freshly ground pepper
- Chopped fresh tarragon for garnish
For the Broth
For the Soup
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
141 calories; 3 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 1795 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
For the Broth
Step
1
Combine all of the ingredients for the broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Strain and set aside.
For the Soup
Step
2
Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the leek, onion and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook gently for five minutes, stirring often, until the onion and leek have softened. Add the garlic, stir together for a minute, then add the potatoes, broth, bouquet garni and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add the chopped asparagus (not the 12 spears), and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, and remove the bouquet garni.
Step
3
Puree the soup with a hand blender or, working in 1-½ cup batches, ladle the soup into a blender. Place a towel over the blender, and pull it down tightly to prevent splashing. Blend each batch, then (whether you pureed the soup in the pot or in a blender) put through a medium strainer, pushing it through with the bottom of your ladle or with a spatula. Return to the pot. Heat through, and add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Step
4
Meanwhile, steam the 12 asparagus spears for four minutes, until just tender. Refresh with cold water, then slice about ¾ inch thick.
Step
5
Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish each serving with a handful of sliced asparagus, sprinkle with tarragon and serve.
Tip
- Advance preparation: You can make the soup a day ahead and reheat.Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
Ratings
4
out of 5
311
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Cooking Notes
Bunny
I made this the other day and thought it was good. However, we reheated it this evening, and now think it is fantastic. This is most definitely a do-ahead dish. A few days of "curing" makes a big difference.
Sarah
I save the asparagus ends until I have a fairly large bag-at least a pound. I use these saved ends to make the stock with the addition of a few sprigs of tarragon and a few Parmesan ends to deepen the flavor. I always use leeks in addition to the onion.I only add one potato because too much potato make the soup a bit gelatinous.To serve, I garnish with fresh grated Parmesan and some crispy bacon or fried proscuitto. Alternatively, garnish with creme fraiche and scallions.
Joe
Am I reading this right? Does this call for two pounds of asparagus? The wording of the ingredients in the broth section is confusing
arizona al
This soup was quite good. I wonder how it would work to use jasmine rice for a thickener rather than potatoes. The author of this recipe had one a few months ago for creamy leek soup that used jasmine rice
ATCAyers
One small waxy potato does fine. Do strain or double blend - the result is a more elegant soup with a wonderful "purity" of flavors. Absolutely make the broth.
tundra
This was excellent soup, I used the 2 potatoes and the leeks, although I only had Yukon Gold potatoes. The broth was essential. Really pretty green color.
Karen M
Wonderful, delicate soup. I made it as directed, with two potatoes and included leeks in both the broth and the soup. I think the leeks are essential rather than optional. I didn't have fresh thyme and substituted fresh rosemary - it worked for me.
Cathleen
Love this soup. I first made it with one russet potato based on the notes, but after pureeing, cooked up a second potato - a Yukon Gold - to add to the pot and that worked out well. The flavors are light and no one ingredient overpowers the others. This made for a very popular Easter starter.
Dave
This was easy and delicious...no need to strain, my hand blender made it smooth...
Sally
Did anyone else find the sieving step kind of a nightmare? Unless there is some trick I can learn (cook it longer? Specific kind of mesh?) I will skip this step next time and take my fibrous chances. The resulting soup is delicious, I just have to stop thinking about my aching fingers and the half-cup of lovely asparagus glorp that went in the compost when I gave up after 20 minutes with the sieve.
Kay
Like others I was disappointed with this soup. I even added extra asparagus since I had two pounds from my farm box. Still it ended up not tasting like much of anything. I wonder. If the broth had reduced more perhaps it would have concentrated the flavor.
kgancas
This is not worth the effort of the homemade broth, it just tastes bland!
lesliedhelm
Added a quarter cup of cream and a bunch of croutons. Delicious.
Sally
Good soup! Heads up, though: The "strain the soup through a strainer" step took me about 20 minutes of standing there, mooshing and scraping the soup through. Guess it depends on the strainer you use, but factor it in when planning your sit-down time!
Heather Pilot
Add some cumin and before serving add white pepper and white truffle oil. YUM!
Maria Antonia Garcés
Delicious soup! I keep asparagus stalks in the freezer and prepared the broth and the soup with 3 bags of frozen asparagus! And I used only one potato. The broth, as most of readers stated, is essential! The soup was absolutely wonderful!
Tamara
I’m still confused about the wording. How many total pounds of asparagus?
nrt
This is a delicate soup - like many that are "cream of" - and absolutely should be made the day ahead. The flavors require time to "bloom". It is not a soup for folks who like "stuff" in soup.I don't eat potatoes so subbed in a box of firm tofu (with the added benefit of some protein).Didn't strain post-blending. Have lots left so playing with seasonings. Today's bowl is ras al hanout, shallots, a bit of garlic, more salt and pepper and spritz of lime. Very "warming, in the ayurvedic sense.
LR
Delicious. Will definitely make it again, but since I like a thicker soup, I will add additional potato. Also, instead of lemon, I added 1/2 cup of cream.
meredithgold53
Cooked this exactly as the recipe called for-except did not need to strain it. Found it somewhat lacking in flavor. Will let it sit for a few hours, add some other spices, and see what happens. Agree with many of the comment about a lot of work for not much flavor.
Jane
Today I am trying 1.25 cups of lentils. It was a bit watery before.
David
I made this as a starter for a dinner party. In the end it worked well, but only with significant variations. Making the night before and reheating seems critical to bringing out flavor. I sautéed the vegetables for the stock in olive oil, and the vegetables for the soup in a fair amount of butter. I upped the flavor with Aleppo pepper and heavy cream (and a fair amount of lemon juice). It needed a lot of salt. I used a food mill after blendIng. And I roasted the asparagus tips with evoo, s&p.
charley
I disagree with those who say this was bland. I found it rich in flavor, especially with letting it wait some hours and adding lemon juice. My only complaint is I didn’t get close to six servings. More like three.
Sarah
I save the asparagus ends until I have a fairly large bag-at least a pound. I use these saved ends to make the stock with the addition of a few sprigs of tarragon and a few Parmesan ends to deepen the flavor. I always use leeks in addition to the onion.I only add one potato because too much potato make the soup a bit gelatinous.To serve, I garnish with fresh grated Parmesan and some crispy bacon or fried proscuitto. Alternatively, garnish with creme fraiche and scallions.
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