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We are all a tad spoiled. We can walk into a supermarket now and it almost, just almost, doesn’t matter what season we are in. We can find anything. Watermelons in February. Berries year round. Asparagus all the time … Oh, no. We can’t do that. Not for everything is there a season but there sure is for asparagus. It’s spring, and often just part of spring. When I scan cookbooks, and find say an asparagus recipe in November, I make a special note. And, when asparagus season arrives, I happily go to my computer, retrieve the recipe and hit the store. This delight can be made with regular green asparagus, but white is more elegant. And if you find purple asparagus, well, that would make for an imperial dish. The recipe calls for chilling this soup but suggests you can eat it warm. We enjoyed this on a Sunday night when we wanted a light meal. We had this soup, warm off the stove, frothy, and radiant with asparagus aroma, plus Doritos with black bean salsa and Guinness. Just about a perfect meal.

White Asparagus Soup with Shaved Asparagus & Pecorino

Yield: serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 9 ounces white asparagus
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • About 2 ½ cups hot chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon mascarpone
  • A handful of green asparagus
  • Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6-8 green asparagus, to serve
  • Pecorino cheese, to serve

Preparation:

White and purple asparagus is only around for a short time in spring, but do treat yourself if you spot it. This soup works just as well with green asparagus, but there’s something quite astonishing about the flavor of white asparagus. There’s hardly anything to do when making this soup; the ingredients sing for themselves. This soup is particularly good served chilled but also works well warm. Snap off and discard the woody parts of the white asparagus and chop into 1-inch pieces. Melt the butter in a pan, add the asparagus and sauté for 2 minutes before adding enough stock to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the asparagus are tender, which will be slightly different each time but should only take a few minutes. Process in a blender until smooth. Add the mascarpone, taste and season with salt and pepper and process again. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. Divide between 2 serving bowls.

Source: Magic Soup by Nicole Pisani and Kate Adams [Atria, 2015]

Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/3.5 for 1/40th second at ISO‑250