Creme D'asperges

Well, I bought a lot of veggies this week, and realized I was not going to get to them before they went bad, so I decided - SOUP!!  What the heck!  So here you go! (I made a small batch since it's just me eating, so you can double if you need lots!)

Cream of Asparagus Soup w/grated Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 1 pound green asparagus (about 16 oz)
• 1 small onion, sliced or chopped
• 1 tbls & 1 tsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil (I use garlic-flavored olive oil)
• 2 to 3 cups of chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (or creme fraiche)
• small amount of Parmesan to sprinkle on top
• S & P to taste

Directions:

1. Caramelize onions in 1 tbls of butter and olive oil (about 10 to 15 minutes until light brown and translucent) in a deep skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Cut off the bottom portion (tough part) of the stalks, then cut each stalk into 1/2-inch pieces.
3. Add asparagus to the onions, then salt & pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
4. Add 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth, simmer, covered until asparagus is very tender (about 15-20 minutes).
5. *Puree soup in batches until smooth, transferring to a bowl.
6. Return to pan and stir in the heavy cream. Add more of the remainder of the broth to thin soup to desired consistency.  
7. Season with Salt & Pepper. Add the remaining tsp of butter and stir.
8. Grate Parmesan over the top of each bowl.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 6

* To puree hot liquids, use the low speed initially, while holding a towel over the top of the lid, as the hot steam can sometimes blow the lid off.  Once I puree the small batches, I put all of it back into the blender to mix again, since I made a small batch.