Have you ever bought a beautiful bunch of asparagus stems just to find out you need to cut almost half of them down the middle because the bottoms are too woody? Well, if that’s ever bothered you and you want to save yourself from the unnecessary waste then this recipe is for you! For this asparagus soup you’re going to need those woody bits, and boy, do they do wonders.
This isn’t your traditional consommé for several reasons . Firstly, you won’t need to clarify the soup using egg whites or learn any cutting-edge chef skills. Instead, you’re just going strain the soup through a cheese cloth. Super simple. Super easy. This is going to make sure you don’t get any of those tough, woody fibers in your soup but retain all of that good flavor. Now, the second reason this isn’t traditional is because we’re actually going to be reintroducing fat to the consommé post ‘clarification’. The whole point of consommé is to rid your broth of impurities, and generally that means fat too. Here we’re going to add a little swig of cream to turn the clear consommé into a dreamy, delicate, creamy asparagus soup, but I like to still call it consommé since it’s so gentle on the palate.
Ideally, you’re going to want to prepare both the consommé and the tarragon oil a day before serving so that both preparations have the time to strain through a cheesecloth for several hours.
Iced Cream of Asparagus Soup with Tarragon Oil
Ingredients
Cream of Asparagus Soup
- woody stems of two bunches of asparagus
- 3 shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 cups of Basic Vegetable Broth without the Greens Broth step, or buy high quality store-bought vegetable or bone broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, or 1 tablespoon cashew butter if vegan
Tarragon Oil
- 1 bunch of fresh tarragon
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, except for cream, in a soup pan and simmer for about 1 hour at medium heat.
- Meanwhile, make the tarragon oil. In a blender, mix together the olive oil and tarragon until completely smooth.
- Lay a cheesecloth, or a (very clean!) dishcloth over a sieve, on top of a container or bowl and pour the tarragon oil into it. Let it strain through the cheesecloth for about 1 hour. You’ll be left with the tarragon solids only in the cheesecloth and the concentrated tarragon oil in the bowl. You can choose to dehydrate the tarragon solids to turn them into dried herbs, or discard them.
- Once your soup is ready, pour it into a blender and mix. Due to the woodiness of the stems, you might be left with some larger, stringy chunks.
- Now lay a cheesecloth, or a (very clean!) dishcloth over a sieve, on top of a container or bowl and pour the soup into it. Transfer it to the fridge to strain for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Once you’ve collected all of the liquids from the soup, you can add the cream to it.
- Now, it’s time to bring all of it together. Ladle the cream of asparagus consommé into a glass or a bowl over an ice cube or two and using a spoon, or a dropper, drop some tarragon oil over the top. Optionally, you can steam some asparagus to add to the consommé if you’re looking for more of a bite. Or if you want to add even more to the dish, you can add some confit salmon too. Store the consommé in the fridge for up to 5 days. The tarragon oil should also be stored in an airtight jar or container in the fridge and will last a couple weeks.
