suemunzlinger's Recipe

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Category: Soup and Salad

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup chopped shallots**, (about 4 ounces)
2 pounds of fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces*
1 48oz container of low sodium chicken broth
(6 cups divided)
2 teaspoons herbs of Provence***
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper (if you do not like the black specks in soup, use white pepper
1 cup whipping cream

In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook 5 minutes or until lightly brown. Stir frequently

Add the asparaagus, 1 1/2 cups of the broth,herbs of Provence, salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat and cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the asparagus is tender.

In small batches, ladle the asparagus into a blender; center part of the lid removed so steam will escape. Put a clean dish towel over the opening. (Hold hand on lid while blending-hot stuff will spew out) If you have an immersion blender that will work great to blend it in the sauce pan)
Blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and repeat another small batch.

Pour puree back into same saucepan and stir in remaining 4 1/2 cups of broth and cream.
Cook over medium heat until hot. Makes about 8 cups.
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* Cut the ends off the asparagus where the green color fades and white begins.
An alternative method is to snap off the asparagus ends. Hold an asparagus spear firmly towards the end and bend it until it breaks naturally. The spear should break at the point where it becomes tough.

**In most places, shallots are usually available throughout the year. Still, at times, you might be in need of some good shallot alternatives. The first option for you is to use the small white or the red onions substitute of shallots. However, both white and red onions cannot impart that mild garlicky flavor of shallots to a dish. To solve this problem, you can add a bit of crushed garlic to the dish, along with the onions. Generally, one small or medium-sized onion is equivalent to almost three shallots, which should be kept in mind while substituting one for the other.

***
Rub the dry herb in the palm of your hand and
it releases the oils in the dried herbs with the warmth of your fingers, making the herbs more fragrant.