[CH] French Asparagus Soup
R.Solarion - Apollonius.Net (damis@apollonius.net)
Tue, 8 May 2001 16:40:48 -0600
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FRENCH ASPARAGUS SOUP
This recipe was in Parade Magazine on 1 April 2001. It is magnifique!
Here is how I made it, and be advised that it can take half the afternoon.
You can add as much or as little cayenne as you like. I had to serve it
for family members, and so I used only 1/4 teaspoon of habanero powder. It
wasn't "hot" to me, but one could tell that the pepper was there. If I'd
been making it only for myself, I probably would have doubled that amount,
maybe more.
Bon Appetit! Roberto
*****
Ingredients
3 pounds (1.5 kilos) of fresh asparagus
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of butter
2 medium-large red onions, chopped
6 cups of defatted chicken broth
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
8 cloves of garlic, coarsely minced
1 bunch of parsley (preferably flat-leaf), chopped (about 1 cup)
1 Tablespoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon salt, maybe more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper
cayenne pepper, to taste
1 large (preferably vine-ripened tomato), seeded, de-juiced and finely diced
sour cream (optional)
Procedure
First of all, prepare the asparagus. Rinse it and pat it dry. Then remove
all the 1-inch tips, discarding any bad ones; and set them aside. Then
remove the woody portion of the stalks by bending and breaking in the
normal way. Discard the woody parts (or let the dogs gnaw on them), and
then cut the rest of the stalks into 1-inch pieces.
Melt the butter in the olive oil in a fairly large pot over medium-low
heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until tender, about 15 minutes,
stirring occasionally. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Add to the broth the asparagus stalks, carrots, garlic, parsley, tarragon,
salt, black pepper and cayenne. Simmer, partially covered, until the
vegetables are tender, about 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from heat and let
cool.
Using a blender or food processor, liquify the broth and vegetables in
batches of 2-3 cups. Strain the soup back into another pot after
liquifying. At this point, one can store the soup, covered, in the
refrigerator overnight and complete the process later.
Before serving, heat the soup over medium heat. When bubbling, add the
asparagus tips, and simmer until the tips are tender and the soup is hot,
about 15 minutes. At this point I personally also added the diced tomato.
When I tried to dice the tomato, it turned to mush and would not have
looked very nice as a garnish.
However, when you serve the soup, you can sprinkle some of the diced tomato
on top; and add a dollop of sour cream for added pizazz. I tried the soup
with and without the sour cream, and there was little effect on the overall
taste and consistency.
This excellent soup can stand on its own without the garnish. It made
about 8 servings and is quite filling.