Wednesday, September 15, 2010

"Creamy" Asparagus Soup

This sounds absolutely disgusting. I admit it. I found this recipe in a recipe book, and thought it looked interesting, as these are all things that I like...I just wouldn't really put them all together, and especially not in this way! However, I have made a goal to make something really weird and 'out of my comfort zone' every week, and since I had the ingredients, I decided to go ahead and try it! :) It turned out FANTASTIC! Even the kids liked it and ate it! I, of course, added a few things, and didn't add some things that I knew the kids wouldn't like...and voila! Here's the recipe that I ended up with!

500 gr (1 lb) asparagus
5 c water
5 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp season salt
1 small onion, finely minced
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp parsley and chives, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 c fresh Spinach, rinsed (can remove stems)
1/2 c minced fresh dill
Small pinch crushed red pepper
A few dashes ground Nutmeg

Trim the tips of the asparagus, and set them aside. Cut all the stalks into 1 inch pieces and place in large pot along with water, bouillon, salt, onion, bay leaf, parsley/chives, and olive oil. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 1/2 hour. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer--uncovered!--for about 5 more minutes. Remove the pot from heat and let cool. Process in a food processor (I added all the 'chunky' parts to the food processor, then enough liquid to really get it liquefied) until smooth. Return to the pot and add the asparagus tips. Let simmer for about 5 minutes or so--until the tips are tender. To serve, pour the soup into the bowls, then just before eating, drop in a small dollop of butter! It's great without it, but add that little butter to it, and this is a most fantastic soup!!! Serve with roast chicken and garlic bread. Oh man. It's good.