On Sunday, the wind was howling outside and all three of us were at various stages of “under the weather” with colds. It seemed like a good soup day. With potatoes beginning to sprout in the pantry and asparagus that had gone almost forgotten in the fridge, I pulled together this creamy asparagus-potato soup.
Creamy Asparagus-Potato Soup
The quantities for this soup don’t need to be exact – use what you’ve got!
- potatoes, peeled and diced – about 3 cups
- ½ pound of asparagus spears, chopped
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 cups chicken stock (or enough to cover the veggies by an inch)
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 ½ cups half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste (for us, that’s a LOT of pepper)
Place the vegetables and garlic in a soup pot; add the chicken stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the asparagus is soft. Using an immersion blender, give the soup a quick blend – but do not totally liquefy it; make sure to leave chunks of potato and asparagus for texture. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can remove half of the soup and blend, returning it to the pot.
Mix the flour with the half-and-half until smooth and add to the soup. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes allowing the soup to thicken, but do not boil. Season with the lemon juice, salt and pepper.
I served the soup with homemade croutons and grated cheddar. The slight green tinge to the soup was enough to keep Hannah from trying it. All the more for Paul and I!
