Cream of Fresh Asparagus Soup

It's asparagus season again and today I made some great soup. If you're like me, asparagus does not rank in your top 10 vegetables, but I promise this is so good. You have to try it.

First off, if you don't use asparagus much check out Martha Stewart's tips here.

One of the best tips to get rid of the tough woody bottom section is just to bend it and let it snap where it naturally does. Throw out the bottoms, keep the tops.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Cream of Fresh Asparagus Soup

prep time: 15 minutes

cook time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cups water

2 tsp chicken bouillon

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan, combine asparagus, chopped onion, and 1/2 -3/4 cup water (with about 1/2 tsp bouillon ). Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until asparagus is tender (10-12 minutes). Process the mixture in a blender to puree the vegetables. Set aside.

2. In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the remaining water and bouillon (adding slowly) and increase the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the mixture boils. Stir in asparagus puree and milk.

3. Put the sour cream in a small bowl, and stir in a ladleful of hot soup (if you don't do this the sour cream will clump in your soup). Add the sour cream mixture and the lemon juice to the soup. Stir while heating the soup to serving temperature, but don't allow to boil. Serve immediately.