So it's spring, supposedly, in NorCal and that means a lot of asparagus in general all over California. Most of it's grown in the central, or San Juaquin valley near Monterrey and Salinas. It becomes quite cheap and plentiful and makes for great soups and sautes and whatnot so here's a soup of it with some delicious Gruyere.
I have to apologize for not getting a pic of this recipe but it was too good to wait until the next making to get a pic and post.
And then there's the Buzzcocks, some classic British punk that I dig every so often, today being one of those days. - justin
Cream of Asparagus and Gruyere Soup Time: 45 minutes Difficulty: Medium Serves: 6-8
1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt 1 tsp ground black pepper
2 lbs asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces (cut ends where stem becomes woody or tough)
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 oz sherry
1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt (room temp)
2 oz grated Fontina cheese
4 oz grated Gruyere cheese
Melt butter in large stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and saute for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Add salt and pepper. Add asparagus and saute another 4 to 5 minutes. Add stock, sherry, and paprika and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Puree until smooth or until you reach the desired consistency.
Return to pot and stir in sour cream or yogurt and bring back up to a simmer. Slowly add Fontina and Gruyere and stir until fully melted into the soup. Serve hot with some chopped scallion as garnish.
This is basically a "we're broke and gotta do something with leftovers" soup that came out fantastic! Very rich, creamy soup and surprisingly, neither the asparagus nor the broccoli are overwhelming. As Justin just said, it's a stick-to-your-ribs soup. Now, I actually made this soup with some of Justin's homemade pork broth which gave it this great, smokey, ham or bacon flavour. However, since I know most people don't have pork broth hanging around in their freezer, I'm going to post the recipe with chicken broth, which is perfectly acceptable.
I'm going to be honest here with the music - I was in a retro mood and listening to my Rosemary Clooney Pandora station (even my garnish got retro!), but this is a rock'n'roll blog and I just can't bring myself to post one of her songs. So I'm going with a song that came across my ears yesterday that I hadn't heard in years! T.S.O.L.'s "Black Magic"! I remember loving this song the first time I heard it and then playing it over, and over, and over, and then over again! Hard to find a video of this song at all! -jen
CREAM OF ASPARAGUS & BROCCOLI SOUP Time: 45-60 minutes total Serves: 6-8 Difficulty: Easy
1.5 pounds of asparagus
1 pound of broccoli
olive oil
salt and pepper
10 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2/3 cup flour
5 cups chicken broth
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on taste)
2 tablespoons dry sherry
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove woody ends of asparagus and discard; chop the asparagus into 2" pieces. Chop broccoli into about 2" pieces, including the stems. Lay out on a baking sheet and drizzle generously with olive oil, then toss to coat all vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat butter in stock pot over medium-high heat and saute onions until soft and transluscent, 5-10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add flour and stir until combined, cook another 5 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth and milk until all clumps have disappeared and sauce begins to thicken. Add roasted asparagus and broccoli, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon, and cayenne pepper. Taste soup to see if it needs additional salt and pepper. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. (If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender or food processor, but do it in batches and be careful because the soup is hot!) Stir in sherry and serve.
