The basis for this recipe is from Epicurious. We had a bunch of asparagus leftover from our trip, and I was thinking soup, so here's what we came up with. Epicurious says 5 pounds of asparagus, of which I think I had about half that, so I kind of halved the recipe.
2 bunches of asparagus chopped into 2 inchers
2 leeks chopped (just the good parts)
2-3 Tbsp Olive oil
5 C vegetable stock (I used Trader's, do NOT use hearty)
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
4 tsp finely grated lemon peel (I used Meyer lemons from my tree)
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon finely chopped (I didn't use this, only because I didn't have any)
1 garlic clove, minced (I didn't use this, because I didn't want to)
Heat oven to 350 deg F. (Don't use 425, like Epicurious says)
Mix the asparagus, leeks and oil in a bowl. Salt and pepper and put on 2 cookie sheets. We have
the high-edge kind, which was handy for this recipe. Roast in oven until lightly browned. About 45 mins. Stir occasionally, as needed, about twice is what I did.
Blender
Once it's cooked, load one cookie sheet worth in the blender, and half the broth. Blend until smooth.
Poor into large soup pan. Repeat with remaining cooked vegetables. Warm soup. Add more stock if you like it thinner. I used about 5 C total. You could maybe get away with a quart box of stock.
Garnish
The remaining ingredients make the garnish, called Gremolata, which is a classic Italian garnish, and it adds a really nice flavor. Yes, add the tarragon. I wish I had some. Just finely chop the Italian parsley, minced garlic, tarragon, and grated lemon peel together, and liberally garnish on top of the reheated soup. Maybe next time I will add the garlic too.
Jib Jab
The soup was good, and super easy to make. Yes, turn down the heat. I used 425 and it went way too fast, and a little too brown on the leeks. I think it would have been sweeter, at a lower temp. The garnish is awesome. I need to get the tarragon next time. Picture to follow.
Yes, you can double this one. I want to make it again at this size to perfect it, first. Every now and then, it had a tiny-too-bitter flavor. I think it could have been roasted too dark, and possibly the asparagas itself, even though we broke off the woody part, before cooking. Maybe just a little more salt would have helped too.
The soup had a bit of a bitter edge the next day for left overs. We freshened it up by adding swiss cheese (lil sweetness) and a dollop of sour cream (lil light an brightness to the rich base). Greek yogurt would have been tasty too. It was a nice recipe that we just gave a little face lift to for the second round.
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