Asparagus Lemon Soup

You know spring is arriving when the asparagus is on sale. Ah spring, it is finally peaking through winter’s gray. Little hints of green here and there. And then there is the beautiful green asparagus, one of my favorite spring foods. It’s in the store now and it’s dirt cheap. I love it with pasta, in omelets and frittatas. I love it grilled and roasted. And, I love this Asparagus Lemon Soup. It has all that yummy asparagus flavor and just a hint of lemon. The yogurt or cream makes it luxurious and yet the lemon makes it refreshing. It is equally good served hot or cold. I love a soup with that kind of versatility.

This really is a simple recipe. Aren’t those the best? Fresh asparagus, celery, chicken broth (homemade if you have it), fresh lemon and heavy cream or plain yogurt. Start out by taking the tough ends off your asparagus. If the stalks are fairly thin, about the size of your little finger, bend them about an inch from the end to get them to break naturally. Now, don’t shy away from the big fat stalks. Those are actually the youngest most flavorful ones. Trim off about an inch from the bottom. If they are still woody, just use a vegetable peeler on about the bottom third. Use it to peel off the tough part. Cut the stalks into about 1 1/2 inch pieces. The tops can be a bit longer.

 

Next cut up the celery. Now, in a large sauce pan, place the asparagus, celery and chicken broth. Bring everything to a nice  boil. Now turn things down to a gentle simmer, and cook it all about 10 minutes. You want the asparagus just tender.

Let things cool off a bit and puree everything with an immersion blender or in batches in the food processor or blender. Have I

mentioned that every kitchen should have an immersion blender. I’m just sayin’.

Blend everything until it’s all smooth. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and whipping cream or yogurt. At this point you may want to warm the soup through so that it’s nice and hot. It’s so pretty. What a nice first course for Spring Brunch.