I’m celebrating Spring with a bounty of asparagus recipes this week. When I find those bright, green stalks at the grocery store, it’s a happy sign that that we survived Winter and made it to Spring. Woo-Hoo!
One of my favorite asparagus dishes is soup. My mom always makes an excellent cream of asparagus soup whenever I come home. I tried a few different recipes but none measured up. Finally, it dawned on me what I needed to do—ask my mom for the recipe. Doh.
When she gave me her recipe, I expected to see cream in it. And there was cream—cream cheese. So I think that’s what makes her version a bit different from more traditional recipes. It’s probably why I could never find one I liked too.
I made one slight adaptation to her recipe with the addition of spinach. While I loved her original recipe what I didn’t love was the muddy green color. It turned a bit brownish, thanks to the mushrooms and onions. So I threw in some spinach to help retain it’s beautiful, bright green hue and give it some depth of flavor. Don’t worry — the asparagus remains the star of the recipe.
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CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP
Recipe from My Mom
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms (or 4 oz can of mushrooms)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 3 cups asparagus pieces
- 1 heaping cup baby spinach, rinsed and drained
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon dill
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Saute onion and mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
- Add in chicken broth, crushed red pepper and asparagus pieces.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes until asparagus is tender.
- Place 1/2 of the soup into a blender with spinach, cream cheese, sour cream and dill. Process until smooth.
- Return to pan and heat through Salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
Tanya