Spring Asparagus Soup Recipes

SPRING TOFU SOUP

Steps:

• Combine garlic and jalapeño in a small bowl. Finely zest the lemons, and add zest to the bowl with the jalapeño mixture. (Reserve the lemons for juicing.) Season heavily with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• In a large pot, bring broth and soy sauce to a simmer, and season with salt and pepper.
• Add mushrooms and simmer until they're just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add asparagus, peas and half the jalapeño mixture, and season the broth again with salt and pepper. Cook vegetables until they're bright green and starting to float, 2 to 4 minutes.
• To serve, spoon a large piece of tofu into each bowl. (Alternatively, scoop tofu into the pot, breaking it into large pieces.) Top with more of the jalapeño mixture, and ladle the broth and vegetables over.
• Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with scallions before serving.

FRENCH SPRING SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the leeks and onion, and cook until tender.
• Pour water into the pot. Mix in potatoes, carrots, asparagus, and rice. Season with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, until vegetables and rice are tender.
• Stir spinach and heavy cream into the soup mixture, and continue cooking about 5 minutes before serving.

SPRING ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add asparagus; cook, covered, until crisp-tender, 3-5 minutes. Drain; place in a large bowl. Add tomatoes; cover and keep warm. , Place vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, onion, salt and paprika in a blender; cover and process until smooth. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream. Toss with asparagus mixture. Top with almonds and, if desired, cheese.

CURRIED SPRING ASPARAGUS SOUP

Steps:

• Remove and discard woody ends from asparagus stalks;scrape spears with a vegetable peeler.
• Cut off tips and reserve.
• Dice stalks and combine with stock in a 4- quart saucepan.
• Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes, or until very tender.
• Cool, then puree in a blender or food processor; set aside.
• Melt butter over low heat in large heavy saucepan.
• Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir in puree and bring to a boil over medium heat.
• Add asparagus tips; cover and simmer 8 to 10 minutes or until tips are tender.
• While soup is simmering, combine yolks,curry, and cream and miz thoroughly with a whisk.
• Add to soup and heat through but do not let boil.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper; serve hot.

SPRING PEA SOUP WITH ASPARAGUS AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium pot over medium. Add leek, celery, and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add broth, 2 cups water, and Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until aromatic, about 10 minutes.
• Add potatoes and simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Add shelled peas, snap peas, and asparagus tips and stalks; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are bright green and just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, remove Parmesan rind, and season with salt and pepper. Serve, topped with dill.

SPRING ASPARAGUS SOUP

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan stir together water, instant chicken bouillon granules, lemon peel, fresh cilantro,and crushed red pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the liquid, discarding the solids; return the liquid to the saucepan.
• Return liquid to boiling. Add the asparagus to saucepan. Reduce heat to low and simme, covered, about 4 to 6 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Set aside a few of the aparagus tips for garnish. Carefully transfer the rest of the mixture to a blender or food processor; cover and blend or process until smooth. Set aside.
• In the same saucepan gradually stir milk into cornstarch. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly; cook and stir for 2 minutes more. (The mixture may be slightly foamy.) Gradually add the asparagus mixture, stirring constantly. Heat through.
• Ladle the asparagus soup into soup bowls. Top with reserved asparagus tips.

THREE LITTLE ASPARAGUS SOUPS FOR SPRING

Steps:

• Peel 4 asparagus stalks and slice the remainder crosswise into 1-inch pieces. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the sliced asparagus and 2 of the peeled stalks. Saute 5 minutes or until soft.
• Add chicken broth, bring to a boil and add half-and-half. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the 2 stalks. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
• Pour the soup through a coarse sieve set over a large bowl, pressing the asparagus through with the back of a large spoon. Scrape the pulp into the soup, whisk and refrigerate 1/3 of it.
• Cut the 2 cooked asparagus stalks into 1/4-inch dice. Set aside. Slice the 2 raw asparagus stalks into 1 1/2- by- 1/8-inch julienne. Set aside.
• For a risotto quenelle garnish, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the onion until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the rice and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the water, 1/3 cup at a time, adding more as water is absorbed, cooking risotto about 10 minutes in all. Add the diced asparagus and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until rice is al dente. Spread risotto on a plate to cool.
• Place the flour, egg and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Shape the rice into quenelles (small footballs) with 2 teaspoons, lightly roll in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs.
• Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a small pot to 375 degrees and fry the risotto quenelles until brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels.
• To serve, remove the cold soup from the refrigerator and remove any solidified butter to larger portion of soup. Heat the unrefrigerated soup till hot and pour into 12 small bowls, adding the reserved asparagus strands to 6 and the quenelles to 6. Pour the cold soup into 6 small bowls, adding the chopped raw salmon to each. Serve each diner with 3 different soups.