Groovy Recipe: Cream of Asparagus Soup

Truth be told, June in the desert is not what one would call "soup weather."  But, I discovered a bunch of asparagus in the crisper drawer that was in desperate need of being cooked.  Immediately.  It had started to wilt slightly, so salad was out.  I looked on Pinterest and other websites for a good cream of asparagus soup recipe.  I looked at about 10, none of which struck my fancy.  So here's what I came up with (I served it with a slice of zucchini quiche):

Cream of Asparagus Soup

* 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 lb fresh asparagus

1 medium onion, diced

4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp olive oil

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup cream

Salt

Pepper

Method

Trim the rough ends off the asparagus, then cut the remaining stalks into 2-inch pieces.

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter and olive oil over high heat.  Add the onion and garlic, season with plenty of salt and pepper, then saute over high heat for 15 minutes, or until it begins to caramelize.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes.  Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, using a spoon to scrape up any browned bits.  Simmer the wine for a few minutes, then stir in the stock.  Bring to a simmer and add asparagus.  Simmer until the asparagus is tender, about 10 minutes.  Pour in the cream and bring back to a simmer.  Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to puree the soup (if you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender - make sure to vent the lid.  Return the soup back to the pan after it's pureed).  Bring back to a simmer until the soup is heated through.  Season with salt and pepper, if needed.  Grub.

The toddler ate it!