Categories: asparagus, soup, vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized shallot, minced
• 1/4 vidalia onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 lbs green asparagus
• 2 cups home made or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
• 1/8 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper
• juice of half a lemon
• croutons or toasted baguette and shaved parmesan for garnish

Directions

1. Cut tips from asparagus, 1 ½ inches from top. Reserve for garnish. Cut stalks and all remaining asparagus into ½-inch pieces.

2. In a heavy saucepan cook the shallot, onion, garlic, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until the shallot is soft. Add the asparagus and the broth, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the asparagus pieces are very soft.

3. While soup simmers, cook reserved asparagus tips in boiling salted water until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain. Set aside.

4. In a blender purée the soup in batches until it is very smooth, forcing it after it is puréed through a fine sieve set over the pan. Whisk in the cream, until it is the desired consistency, and add the lemon juice, parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

5. to serve:

6. Ladle soup into a shallow soup bowl, add the al dente tips and top with toasted baguette slice and parmesan curls/shavings.

7. after-thoughts:

8. - one of the tricks to this soup is the al dente asparagus tips that are added in just before serving – they don’t get puréed with the rest of the soup and they’re cooked just a bit so that you get to bite into them.

9. · topping the bowl of soup as I’ve shown with a small piece of toasted baguette is delicious – it soaks up the soup and still remains quite crunchy, while on top of it are a few very salty curls of parmesan…delicious!

10. - this soup can be served hot or cold, depending on your personal preference and the time of year you’re serving it

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