Cream of Asparagus Soup

 

I found a soup that was a winner with the entire family! This Cream of Aspargus soup was easy to make but it had a lot of steps and ended up dirtying up way too many pots and pans. I'm not sure how I would condense it down to less pot and pans and have it taste as good though. I was so happy when I saw the kids eating this green soup without so much as a complaint! Since my four year olds are baulking at the mention of vegetables lately, I'm getting creative! Halfway through Izzie mentioned that her dinner didn't have "any" vegetables in it. I told her that it was green because I pureed the asparagus. She just shrugged and said, "I like asparagus this way!" 

-Amanda

 Cream of Asparagus Soup with Grilled Chicken

Equipment:

1 soup pot

1 saute pan with high edges

1 grill pan

1 cookie sheet

immersion blender (or regular blender)

Ingredients:

1 pint of mushrooms

1 pint of heavy cream

bacon grease

salt & pepper

parmesan cheese

handful of pine nuts

2 chicken breasts

1 bushel of asparagus

2 tbsp of butter

1 tsp of tarragon

1 tsp of thyme

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 quart of chicken stock

Mince your mushrooms up finely. Set aside. Put asparagus on cookie sheet and roast them at 425 for about 12 minutes. (You could skip this step, but I think it brings out the flavor of the asparagus.) Chop onion and garlic and put in them in the soup pot with the butter. Cook on medium stirring often to soften onions. Add seasonings (tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper.)

Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a dry saute pan. Remove to a bowl and set aside. (At this point you could cook your chicken in the saute pan to save dirtying your grill pan, but I like the grill pan.) If you are not cooking your chicken in the saute pan, put the bacon grease and mushrooms in. Stir until mushrooms are caramelized. Add heavy cream, salt and pepper. Stir on medium-high until cream thickens. Set aside.

Take your now cooked asparagus and put them in your soup pot. Add chicken broth. With an immersion blender, blend until asparagus breaks down completely. It's pretty fibrous, so it takes awhile. When it is done, pour the cream of mushroom soup that you made into the soup pot. Stir to incorporate. Add parmesan cheese to taste. Serve with the grilled chicken and pine nuts.