Spinach Asparagus Soup

Spinach Asparagus Soup

Spinach Asparagus Soup,a recipe I learnt at a cooking event in our community. I recently got elected to the HOA Board and we recently started a Social events committee in our neighborhood, Being a lover of food at heart, I volunteered the idea to start something like this where community would easily gravitate towards and find it easy to mingle with other neighbors. I firmly believe in the idea that your neighbors are the extended family of sorts. If you have good neighbors you are likely to enjoy life even more!

So our very first event of Chef’s Creations series, was held on an extremely cold day of the winter in January with temperatures at 24 F. Not sure if the residents will show up, fellow member and I decided to wait for people. The member took up the task of showing the recipe and she very graciously changed the ingredients to suit my vegetarian diet. We felt blessed that day as 20 residents showed up on Sunday afternoon, some to cheer us up, some out of plain curiosity, and some just followed the smell of delicious cooking! Spinach Asparagus Soup turned out to be a perfect accompaniment on an extremely cold day.

The kitchen could not have held more people, so it was just right size of group. The recipe used by her was from A Chef’s Kitchen, Williamsburg VA. According to couple of my other neighbors, it is known for its very classy cuisine and is extremely famous and booked more than 6 months in advance. So she really hit the bull’s-eye there!

I just admired her enthusiasm and willingness to do something she had never done before and as a great reward for her efforts, the participants really appreciated the event!  She did a great job in explaining the recipe and there was also ample time for neighbors to laugh and chat! A very generous neighbor decided to donate his collection of cookbooks as a surprise door prize to one of the participants. It was such a great camaraderie feeling, and it was heart warming to see teenager son and daughter with dads, and mothers and daughters bond over an afternoon of cooking demonstration.

The soup was great in color, and tasted delicious and even though there were too many cooks helping out, it did not spoil the taste! We sure made some mess, but felt a wave of positive energy and satisfaction.Unfortunately this would not serve a good recipe for strict Jain Diet as it uses roots. The recipe is nutritious and has the richness of Creme Fraiche, an ingredient I personally likes it reminds me homemade Indian butter from fermented milk cream.

So in the coming cold wintry days, enjoy this delicious recipe of Spinach Asparagus Soup from the highly rated A Chef’s Kitchen and as demonstrated by the chairperson of our Social Events committee! And a lesson I learnt that day was that the way to a stranger’s heart often lies via good food and that giving back to the community is a great feeling! My apologies for not having step by step images, as it was a class in progress, where I was a student!

Print Recipe
Spinach Asparagus Soup
Spinach Asparagus Soup How to make quick Spinach Asparagus Soup.
Spinach Asparagus Soup
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Italian
Servings
6 people
Ingredients
Garnishing the soup
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Italian
Servings
6 people
Ingredients
Garnishing the soup
Spinach Asparagus Soup
Instructions
Preparing the Soup
  1. Cut the tips of the asparagus from the stems and reserve as a soup garnish.Cut the asparagus stems in 1 inch pieces.
  2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the leeks and onion and then cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, unless the onions are translucent in color.
  3. Add the potatoes, broth, thyme, pepper, salt to the saucepan. Reduce the heat, cover and cook until vegetables are tender and potatoes are soft.
  4. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, add the cut stem pieces of asparagus and cook for 3 minutes on hight flame, till they are soft.
  5. Add baby spinach leaves and cook for 1 minute.
  6. Remove from flame and puree soup in blender in batches.
  7. Pour the blended soup through a sieve or strainer in a pot. Thin with some more vegetable broth if desired,
Garnishing the soup
  1. Chop the saved asparagus stems into small pieces
  2. Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a skillet.Once the oil is hot and simmering, add the reserved asparagus tips. Saute until tender.
  3. Serve the soup in the cup and add asparagus to the soup. Garnish each bowl of the soup with Creme Fraiche or sour cream. and chopped parsley or chives.Add some drops of smoked paprika oil on the top and serve,
Recipe Notes

Tips

Be cautious when blending the soup, as it is just off the flame.

Prepping all the chopping previously quickens the cooking time.

Instinct Factor

If I were to rely on my instincts, I would remove the leeks as I did not taste them much and also am not too fond of it and I would be careful while adding creme fraiche, as little portion of it is sufficient, as it can get very rich and dense. Sour cream would probably adapt well here. 

Feel Factor

A really green inviting soup with the fragrance of onions, olive oil, and asparagus. As per the author this also serves as the base for Potato and Leek soup, if you are fond of leeks. The color of the garnishing of the asparagus was perfect and the Spinach Asparagus Soup was extremely welcome on a cold afternoon. A bit of thyme, a bit of parsley, a bit of asparagus and loads of baby spinach,  with the exquisite flavor of smoked paprika oil made this recipe and demonstration a truly unique and delicious experience. And am very happy to share such a wonderful community moment with the broader blog community here!