This smooth and flavorful seasonal soup is finished in the blender. It has few ingredients, and some are easily substituted, so you can probably make it now if you have fresh green asparagus in your fridge. It keeps well for a few days in the refrigerator.
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Eat it hot or cold
I think of asparagus as seasonal finger food: when the stalks are tender, I roast them lightly and eat them whole, no trimming needed. They also work beautifully in simple dishes like this one, where the vegetable is the star.
Soups may be cooked, but they can still celebrate fresh produce, especially when served cold. Think gazpacho, vibrant okroshka, or this asparagus soup; each depends on ripe ingredients at their peak for bold, vibrant flavor. As Alain Ducasse said, the best peach tart starts with the best peaches; here, this gorgeous summer soup begins with the best asparagus.
And like asparagus pasta, this recipe also adapts well to late-season spears that may be too tough for raw salads, served with crusty bread or topped with croutons.
How to choose green asparagus
- Color and appearance: Look for vibrant green stalks with tightly closed, firm tips. Some spears might have a purple tinge, which is fine, but avoid those with yellowing or browning.
- Firmness: The stalks should be firm and straight. Gently bend the asparagus; it should snap easily without being limp.
- Size: While size can be a matter of preference, thicker stalks tend to be more tender and flavorful. Thinner stalks can be more fibrous and tough.
- Moisture: check the ends of the asparagus. Fresh asparagus should be moist and not dried out. The ends shouldn't be too woody or desiccated.
- Smell: Fresh asparagus have a mild, pleasant scent.
Peeled or unpeeled asparagus?
That depends on how in season and good the skin is.
- Peeling asparagus is a tad laborious and an extra step, and for me, it depends a lot on the bright green (or not) color the vegetables have by themselves.
- Unpeeled asparagus: In the end, you can strain the soup after it's blended to discard any hard parts that might've remained.
Bright color
The way to keep that beautiful color is to immerse the peeled asparagus in a bowl of ice water while you prep and cook the rest of the ingredients.
This step can be avoided if you have everything ready and peel them at the last moment.
Steps to make asparagus soup
Flavor base
The asparagus pieces are cooked with onions, leeks, shallots and garlic. Talk about a flavor powerhouse!
Let them soften, but be careful not to burn them as they will turn bitter.
Blend and strain
The last step is blending or processing the soup to make it creamy and smooth. I use an immersion blender and blend it directly in the pot. If using a blender, be careful as very hot mixtures might crack the jar.
After that, strain the mixture through a sieve to discard pieces that have not dissolved and achieve a smoother texture.
Creamy finish
Use a splash of cream to serve. Keep in mind that drizzling it over very hot soup will make the cream separate a little and the drizzle not be as sharp. Still tasty though.
Serving
A dollop of whipped cream (no sugar), sour cream, or crème fraiche is the way to go together with a few roasted asparagus tips, which should be added at the last moment as they tend to sink pretty quickly.
This green soup can be served either warm or at room temperature.
A bonus is that this recipe is good with average, out-of-season produce; with very good, tender asparagus spears, it's fantastic.
Croutons: they make great soup toppers, adding crunch to a creamy soup. I toast bread cubes with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper in a medium-low oven (300°F/150°C), so they dry out and become wonderfully crunchy.
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Fresh Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds fresh green asparagus
- 5 to 6 cups vegetable broth, homemade or store-bought
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup chopped leeks
- ⅓ cup onion, thinly sliced
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- extra fresh asparagus tips, for garnish
Instructions
- Bend 2 ½ pounds fresh green asparagus stalks until they snap. Keep the parts with the tips. Discard the rest (woody ends).
- Have 5 to 6 cups vegetable broth simmering slowly in a medium pot.
- In a large pot over medium-low heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter until they meld, and add ½ cup chopped leeks, ⅓ cup onion, 1 shallot and 1 garlic clove.
- Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and cook until they soften but not letting them brown, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the asparagus pieces, stir, and add 4 cups of the broth.
- Let it simmer and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes. Uncover the pot and let it cook for 5 more minutes or until the asparagus are soft. Check for seasonings and adjust.
- Remove from the heat and blend in the pot using the immersion blender. If using a regular blender, work in batches. Be careful, as some blender jars do not admit very hot mixtures. If that is the case for you, you'll have to wait until the mixture has cooled down. I cracked a glass blender jar once with hot soup.
- Check again for seasonings and adjust and add more broth until you have the consistency you like.
- Serve with some unsweetened whipped cream or a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.
Notes
This asparagus soup is a recipe adapted from cookbook author and baker extraordinaire Dorie Greenspan.
Cakelaw says
Asparagus is out of season here too, hence is quite expensive. Glad you enjoyed the soup.
Andrea_TheKitchenLioness says
Paula, what a perfectly lovely presentation of your fabulous green asparagus soup. It does have a very velvety texture and a wonderful fresh color. We adore asparagus as well but we almost only get white stalks around here and we are lucky because we are in the middle of asparagus season right now until mid-June and then there is no more of this lovely vegetable available anywhere.
Have a fabulous weekend!
Teresa says
It's unfortunate that our recipe schedule is so often out of synch for our Southern Hemisphere Doristas - we should have a reverse season month where you and Sanya and Gaye get to decide the month's menu based on what's in season in the South.
The Ninja Baker says
Great post, Paula! I am inspired - truly. Now I want to shave bits of asparagus onto my salad. Or roast the skinny little stalks..Last and not least, your soup looks divine and to one whose palate is not as refined as yours I bet deee-licious!
Bam's Kitchen says
Great delicate asparagus soup. The asparagus in HK seems to be coming from Thailand and does seem to lack in flavour and is tough. I long for the great asparagus from Europe this time of the year. I bet this would taste wonderful with white asparagus as well.
ayu | the spicy lemongrass says
Your soup looks so elegant Paula. I'm glad you enjoyed it even with off season asparagus. Mine seemed to be lacking in flavour sadly.
Medeja says
I still look bit suspicious to asparagus, I am just not used to so many vegetables 🙂
Looks like a great soup 🙂
Guyla says
Beautiful pictures Paula. I ended up using frozen asparagus and it worked fine. Glad you are enjoying fall!
gaaarp says
Your soup looks great! I really enjoyed this recipe, especially with fresh, seasonal asparagus. I'm interested in trying it cold, but if I keep eating it, there won't be any left soon!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
Paula,
this soup looks fabulous. . we love asparagus! I must ask- what are those lovely pita/chip bread crackers next to the soup? did you make those?
Paula says
They are called `sailor crackers´ and have been around forever here. I just buy them. They are hard crackers that last forever! Guess they were used back in the day when sailing for months... who knows
Amy Andrews says
What a beautiful little bowl of soup! Nice. Enjoy the weekend.
Liz Berg says
Yup, a bit fussy for the end result. Gorgeous photos, Paula!
Deb says
I have never made asparagus soup, preferring to enjoy the entire stalk roasted or in a quick saute. Perhaps this is a recipe to try on a summer foggy evening as it looks so vibrant in your photos!
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker says
Beautiful photos Paula! And I absolutely adore asparagus. Sauteing them is my favorite way of eating them. Have a stellar weekend! 🙂
Cher Rockwell says
Seasonal foods are a blessing and a curse - they are glorious when they are in season (no matter how brief), but so sad when they are out of season.
Your soup looks absolutely lovely - beautiful color.
Susan Lester says
Your photography is just beautiful, Paula. I'm so glad you agreed with me. I think the sauteing adds flavor as well.
Have a lovely weekend!
Ei says
Ooh, you're lucky. My asparagus was flavorless, and so was the soup. Yick. Though I've made the soup before, and liked it. Still, it's a lot of work and waste for a soup.
Silvia says
Me encantan los espárragos. Y como siempre digo, cuando hay espárragos y alcauciles hay que aprovechar porque la temporada es muy corta.
La frase de A. Ducasse es genial y completamente acertada. E cocina, pienso, que funciona a la perfección eso de menos es más, por lo que es preferible poca cantidad de ingredientes pero de alta calidad.
¡Buen fin de semana!
Helene Dsouza says
Ah I wish I could get asparagus here. Rarely I mean really rarely they sell white asparagus here in goa but those look terribly sick. I used to dislike this veggie except if my mum would make a ham roll out of it. In time I learned to love a creamy asparagus soup. Love your pics Paula, I jsut wish I could make some too.
Carol | a cup of mascarpone says
What a beautiful, lovely soup, Paula! I adore asparagus...and it's so good for you! Have a great weekend!