Joanne Weir's Aspargus Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche
Joanne Weir teaches hands-on cooking courses in her professional
kitchen in San Francisco and also has a schedule of week-long
journeys to locations in France, Italy, and Spain. She
is the author of several cookbooks. Her latest cookbook
is Wine Country Cooking.
You can find out more about Joanne Weir and her cooking classes
on her Web
site.
Early harbingers of spring, along with crocuses, jonquils, and
budding grapevines, are the slender green tips of asparagus poking
their heads through the soil. I know that warm weather is just
around the corner and that I’ll soon be savoring this most
elegant vegetable. A good drizzle of lemon-scented crème
fraîche makes every spoonful of this springtime soup come
alive in your mouth.
- 3 pounds asparagus, ends removed and discarded
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 to 2 tablespoons water
Slice off 1 inch of the asparagus tips. Diagonally slice the
pieces into thin slivers. Reserve. Slice the remaining asparagus
into 3/4-inch lengths. Reserve separately.
Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion
and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 7 minutes.
Add the 3/4-inch lengths of asparagus and the chicken stock.
Bring to a boil over high heat, decrease the heat to low, and
simmer until the asparagus is tender, about 12 minutes. Let the
soup cool for 15 minutes. In batches, puree the soup in a blender
on high speed, 3 minutes per batch, until very smooth. Strain
through a fine mesh strainer into a clean soup pot. Add 1 tablespoon
of the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Add additional
water to correct the consistency if the soup is too thick.
In a bowl, mix together the crème fraîche, lemon
zest, remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to thin slightly to make a pourable
consistency for drizzling over the finished soup.
To serve, bring the soup to a simmer over medium heat. Add the
reserved asparagus tips to the hot soup and simmer slowly until
they are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle
with the lemon crème fraîche and serve immediately.
Serves 6
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