Asparagus End Soup
I was trying to figure out a way to use up the ends of asparagus that I snapped off a pound when preparing it for Spring dinner - asparagus is an expensive treat and I hated tossing all those ends into the compost! A quick search of the 'net revealed many like-minded folks, including several who maintained that slicing them up into thin little disks and boiling them would render them into tender and edible morsels. Guess what? It works!
This recipe is kind of inexact - it really depends on how many ends you have to work with - modify it as needed! I added a potato so I would end up with a creamy texture without adding cream - if you would rather have the fat than the carbs, feel free to skip the potato and add real cream instead of the low-fat milk.
Add cup of milk and blend it up with an immersion blender until creamy. Add lemon juice, pepper and cooked asparagus bits, if you've got them (if, like me, you have no restraint with asparagus, and have none leftover, just add a bit of cooked broccoli or cauliflower, or skip this step altogether).
That's it!
- 2 cups water
- ends snapped off 1 pound of asparagus
- 1 small potato, chopped (optional)
- 1/4 onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 cup low-fat milk (or cream, if you prefer)
- Lemon juice to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- A couple leftover spears of asparagus from the feast (if available), chopped
Add cup of milk and blend it up with an immersion blender until creamy. Add lemon juice, pepper and cooked asparagus bits, if you've got them (if, like me, you have no restraint with asparagus, and have none leftover, just add a bit of cooked broccoli or cauliflower, or skip this step altogether).
That's it!