Asparagus Velvet Soup
Simply Delicious
Asparagus Velvet Soup | Dara O’Brien
By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press
Smooth or chunky; vegan or meaty; clear or creamy; sweet, savory, or spicy; hot or cold — soup is all.
This is relatively new information for me. When I was a kid, soup meant one thing: Campbell's Chicken Noodle. It was a pillar of my diet. I suspect I ate at least one can of it every week from preschool through high school. Not because I loved it, but because I was a picky eater, so there weren't a lot of options.
No offense to Campbell's, but I'm glad to say that I've grown past the rigid limits of my early diet — and past canned or packaged soup, as well. Sure, I squirrel away a can or two, but unless I'm at a restaurant, my soups are mostly always homemade.
Main-dish soups like beef stew or a particularly satisfying chicken minestrone, which I've written about, are wonderful, but soups are also great as appetizers or first courses. That's where this recipe by Rachael Ray from her book "Rachael Ray's Classic 30-Minute Meals," published by Lake Isle Press, comes in.
Rachael features this soup as a first course for a "seductive supper." I cannot testify to its amorous properties since I made it for myself and then shared the leftovers with a friend in a very unromantic setting. But it includes a few simple ingredients and features a delicious fresh vegetable, so this recipe does indeed hold many enticements.
It also has the added benefit of being quite easy to prepare. There's not much prep — just trim the asparagus, measure a few things, simmer, mix, simmer again, and Voila! Creamy liquid asparagus.
I considered roasting the asparagus to deepen its flavor, but I followed the recipe and simmered it since the cooking liquid would be added to the soup. I used corn stock rather than veggie stock since I had some in the fridge. Great results. The soup has a nice flavor, and there weren't a ton of leftovers, but if you want some, double the recipe.
The first time I made soup from scratch, I was well into my thirties. This was also when I tasted asparagus for the first time. So here I am, a few years down the road, making soup rather than heating it from a can, from an ingredient I would never have eaten at any time in my childhood.
That's progress, am I right?
Asparagus Velvet Soup Recipe
Click here for printable recipe.
Makes 2 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 bundle (about 20 spears) thin spears asparagus
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ cups good-quality vegetable stock (available on soup aisle)
Salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or chives, for garnish (optional)
Edible flowers, for garnish (optional)
PREPARATION
Trim asparagus by holding a spear at both ends and allowing it to snap. Use this spear as a guide to cut away the tough ends of the rest.
Bring wine and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan; add asparagus. Cook, covered, until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain asparagus liquid into a food processor. Cut tips off asparagus on an angle and reserve them. Cut the remaining spears into 1-inch pieces and puree in food processor with cooking liquid.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in asparagus stock and return soup to a bubble. Season soup with salt and white pepper and stir in cream. Cook to thicken soup slightly. Adjust seasonings and serve hot in small or shallow bowls topped with reserved asparagus tips, chopped herbs, and/or edible flowers for garnish.
Recipe from “Rachael Ray’s Classic 30-Minute Meals: The All-Occasion Cookbook” by Rachael Ray, published by Lake Isle Press, 2006
Asparagus Velvet Soup Recipe
from “Rachael Ray’s Classic 30-Minute Meals: The All-Occasion Cookbook”
by Rachael Ray
Lake Isle Press, 2006
An outstanding collection of Rachael Ray's best 30-Minute Meals, now in one volume. Features over 150 meals selected from eight of Rachael's titles. Find ideas for fast weekday suppers, parties, date nights, and meals for kids by kids. a true all-occasion cookbook by the bestselling cookbook author and Food Network personality whose groundbreaking reputation for creating simple, delicious meals in under 30 minutes is now legendary.
Also from this book:
Chicken and Grapes with Creamy Mustard Sauce and Couscous Recipe