When I think of asparagus I instantly think of spring. If you are lucky enough to grow this vegetable then you will know how amazing it tastes when eaten straight from the garden. So crisp, juicy and fresh. I just had to create an asparagus soup recipe that could highlight all of these beautiful qualities of asparagus.
This soup is so fresh and flavourful. Soup tends to be such a winter comfort to me warming up the whole body when its so cold out. Heading into spring as the weather is warming what we cook in our kitchens changes. This soup is a great transition from the hearty warm foods of winter to the fresh lighter food we are now starting crave in spring.
The lemon and dill complement the asparagus so well giving it a citrusy, fresh and slightly sweet flavour
The sour cream adds to that freshness, while also making the soup lovely and creamy.
This is classed as a cream of soup meaning we will blend the soup with a blender once it has cooked. What I love about cream of soups is that when you chop your vegetables you do not need to be precise, you just need to roughly chop everything up. It is nice when you don’t have time and just want to quickly throw a soup together.
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Tools you will need
- Knife
- Chopping board
- Medium saucepan, although for soups and stews I always swear by my Dutch oven, I love it. Click here.
- Wooden spoon
- Lemon squeezer. Click here
- Blender. I use a stick blender I find it so versatile, I think all kitchens should have one. Biggest bonus is it’s so much easier to use than having to pour HOT soup into a blender. Click here for mine.
Ingredients for the asparagus soup
- Asparagus. The fresher the better. The reason I say this is a great recipe for spring is because that is the time to harvest asparagus and like and fruit or veg it always tastes better when it is in season. But there is also another reason behind it and that is cost. It always cheaper to buy when its in season otherwise it can get quite expensive.
- Onion. A medium yellow cooking onion.
- Celery.
- Lemons. If you can use the juice from an actual lemon and not the stuff in a bottle it will taste so much better.
- Fresh dill. Fresh is always best but if you don’t have any then dried dill works just fine.
- Butter. You can use oil
- Garlic
- Chicken broth. I love to use homemade broth that I make myself, but any other broth or bouillon is good. Also, if you prefer to make it vegetarian then you can substitute the chicken for a vegetable broth.
- Sour cream or creme fraiche. Any kind will work, creme fraiche is ideal as sour cream tend to curdle slightly. This will not affect the taste though just the looks. Unfortunately I have found that creme fraiche though isn’t as readily available here in Canada or the States like sour cream is.
How to make the asparagus soup
Begin by roughly chopping all of the vegetables. This does not need to be precise, because it will be blended at the end any way.
Over a medium heat add a knob of butter to your pot or Dutch oven.
Once the butter has melted add in the onion and celery. Cook for around 4 minutes until they have started to soften. They should look shiny and juicy.
Add in the asparagus and cook for another couple of minutes.
Squeeze in the lemon juice, add the chopped garlic and half of the chopped dill.
Give all the ingredients a mix then pour in your broth.
Season lightly with salt and pepper. You can add more at the end to taste.
Bring to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Place lid over pot and cook for 20-25 minutes. When all the ingredients are nice and soft.
Remove the pot from the heat and using your stick blender blend the soup until the texture is nice and smooth. Alternatively decant it into a blender and blend it that way, then return the mixture to the pot.
Over a low heat add in the sour cream and the rest of the dill, heat through. You do not need to bring it back up to a boil.
Season to taste
Serve with fresh warm crusty bread, smothered in butter.
Creamy Asparagus soup with lemon and dill
A lovely fresh citrusy soup that is a perfect springtime soup.
Ingredients
- 750g Fresh asparagus. tough ends cut off and thoroughly washed (roughly 35-40 stalks)
- 1 Medium yellow cooking onion
- 2 Sticks celery
- 2 Cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp Chopped fresh dill
- Juice 1 small lemon (around 2- 3 tbsp)
- 4 Cups chicken broth or bouillon
- 1 Cup sour cream or creme fraise
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Begin by roughly chopping all of the vegetables.
- Over a medium heat add a knob of butter to your pot or Dutch oven.
- Once that has melted add the onion and celery. Cook for around 5 minutes until they have started to soften. They should look shiny and juicy.
- Add in the asparagus and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice, add the garlic and half of the chopped dill.
- Give all the ingredients a mix then pour in your broth.
- Season lightly with salt and pepper. You can add more at the end to taste.
- Bring to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Place lid over pot and cook for 20-25 minutes once all of the ingredients are nice and soft.
- Remove the pot from the heat and using your stick blender blend the soup until the texture is nice and smooth. Alternatively decant it into a blender and blend it that way, then return the mixture to the pot.
- Over a low heat add in the sour cream and the rest of the dill, heat through. You do not need to bring it back up to a boil.
- Season to taste.
Serve with fresh warm crusty bread, smothered in lots of butter.
Notes
You can substitute fresh dill for dried I would recommend around two teaspoons.
Any variety of sour cream is fine.
You can substitute the chicken broth for vegetable to make this a vegetarian dish.
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