Asparagus and Leeks, Together At Last

The Farmer's Market has incredible looking asparagus right now, of all thicknesses, and so I grab a couple of bunches each time I'm there.  I also got some lovely leeks, not too big and thick, begging to be made into soup!  While I am a fan of asparagus, it is not really one of my favorite spring vegetables.  But cook it up with some leeks, shallots and chicken stock? Oh yeah!  Based on the Asparagus Soup in my Gourmet book here, off I went to make my soup.  I made this soup on a week night, it was an incredibly easy and fast recipe with great results.

The recipe includes a Parmesan Custard that is served in the soup (not loaded with fat, I swear!) which looked delicious, but I really just wanted some straight up asparagus soup.  I imagine the parmesan custard could only make this better, and it would impress dinner guests too!

I used twice the leeks and shallots that the recipe called for and I used half-and-half instead of cream because I didn't have any cream.  I also did not strain it because I like blended soups with a little texture and chunks (as long as it's not potato-based, then it gets all gummy).  Anyway, it was excellent, this recipe is very flexible and could be changed even more to your individual whims.

Comments

[alice]

That looks great!!! I'm learning a thing or two from your table setting skills - I love the contrast of the colors in the soup and the plates. Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. You've made me ready for my lunch now.