Monday, March 21, 2011

Spring Asparagus Potato Soup



What a great vacation and Austin is the best town ever! Even though Jesse and I didn’t have access to the SXSW classes, we were able to enjoy free music played on streets and in bars. Texans as always, are friendly and fun and we partied liked two kids at Disneyland. I’m still detoxing from all those freshly squeezed margaritas I developed a fondness for.

It's a bit sad to be back in cold Coeur d’Alene, but nice to hang out with my parents for another week while I finish this real estate course. Then finally, I go home to Moscow Friday evening. For a while at least. Why did Julie talk me into this again? I’ve been living out of a suitcase for four of the past six weeks. Oh, because it’s good for me.

I’m trading fresh green summer salads and grilled Tex-Mex for steamy soup to fight this chilly rain and sleet. Outside my bedroom window the forest floor is still blanketed with snow, and I’m already missing the warm Texas weather.

So for now, soup will be my comfort. Light, fresh, healthy asparagus soup. Trading out the standard cream for potatoes, I lightened up the calorie load and packed in more nutrients, creating a soup that’s both good and good for you too.

Spring Asparagus Potato Soup

Printer Version
Fines herbs is a mixture of several different fragrant green herbs. If you won't use it often, for under a nickel you can usually buy the amount you’ll need in the bulk section.


2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed and diced
1 pound baking potatoes, peeled and diced small
2 (14.5) ounce cans veggie or chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fines herbs
Dash of cayenne pepper
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

1. Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onions and sweat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes until the asparagus is cooked through.

2. Add the broth, salt, herbs, cayenne and black pepper. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. About 10 minutes.

3. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil if desired.

Recipe and photograph by Laura Flowers.


22 comments:

love lives in the kitchen said...

this looks absolutely delicious!! i love the mix of asparagus and potatoes :)
have a sweet day,
justyna

VegeCooking Club said...

Ooo that looks very healthy and tasty. LOVE that photo too. Just gorgeous. You are so talented Laura.

Unknown said...

I love Austin too! I love running along the river. Stoked on this light and healthy soup. Perfect for spring and getting into sumer shape!

Joanne said...

I have such a love/hate relationship with things that are "good" for me. Like studying. Sigh.

Mmm hand-squeezed margaritas. Those babies are hard to come by. And oh so yummy.

I love this soup. So thick and creamy...and yet so good for you. That's what I'm talking about.

Unknown said...

I could never live out of a suticase for weeks...I crave my couch and refrigerator..my own couch that is.

Lovely picture, love the swirl, I want to dive in

Anonymous said...

I don't know where my comment went.. hmmm
I love the earthy tones here, makes me really want asparagus and fiddleheads for some reason.
Glad you enjoyed your trip and your drinks!!
Nice recipe, and olive oil drizzle!

Chelsea said...

Yuuuummm. Soup is so great on cold days. I love Coeur d’Alene! We go up once a year to visit family and the theme park. It's beautiful there.

Unknown said...

The soup looks wonderful.

Simones Kitchen said...

That looks like the perfect combination soup for cold spring weather.. :) I have to say that I am glad the sun is shining here at the moment and it's lovely outside (I am sure that is not what you want to hear right now!)

Anonymous said...

I'm not crazed about potatoes...would it be okay just to take them out? It looks so great!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Charissa you can, but you may want to replace it with some milk or heavy cream to taste. Potatoes add that creaminess without the calorie load to this soup.

Laura

The Cooking Photographer said...

Chelsea that's awesome you visit up here!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Charissa I just thought of something. You might be able to use a pound of cauliflower in the place of the potatoes too.

L

Amee said...

glad you had fun in Texas! did you happen to have a mexican martini at Trudy's? That is a must for your next visit.

shaz said...

Good luck with the course Laura. And keep warm, at least you have summer to look forward to and yummy soup to help you along in the meantime. Hubby wrote me a Texas round-up to make up for not taking me to SXSW (I know, I should really learn how to negotiate huh?) :) Have a great weekend.

Becky said...

Laura, I love asparagus soup and I love potato soup, but I never thought of combining the two. This looks great! My asparagus should be ready to harvest in the next three weeks, so I am saving the recipe to make it then. Thanks so much for sharing it! I'm so glad I found your blog from a link on Whistlestop Cafe Cooking.

Becky

The Breakfast Lover said...

You had nice holydais!
This soup looks great!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

ah yes, spring I've been waiting for you! you know i used to hate asparagus growing up but somehow came to love it as I do today. this soup looks super delicious, especially with your lovely drizzle of oil on top!

Unknown said...

I've been to Coeur d’Alene but never Texas. I think it would be hard to give up those margs too. This soup looks fantastic!

Sue said...

Mmmmm, I love asparagus!

Kristina said...

I made this soup for lunch today, and it's definitely a new favorite. YUM!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Hi Kristina,

Thank-you for telling me about the soup! I'm happy you liked it.

Laura

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