Hot Asparagus Soup and a cold

It does not feel great if you are down with a cold, specially if you have lost your voice  - for a person like me who thinks verbal expression as a medium of art, its not the best thing. The only things that are making me feel somewhat better are hot soups, chais and sympathy calls from friends and family. Well it sounds worse than it is - literally I sound like a frog with laryngitis. After looking around for some quick soup recipes, found this one here, tweaked it a bit for my taste. The result - nice creamy soup, quick to make and a meal on a cold day like today. 

1 pound fresh asparagus

1 large chopped white onion

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp all purpose flour

salt to taste

ground black pepper

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

spring onions finely chopped for garnish (optional)

pinch turmeric - good for cold

chili oil for garnish (optional)

In a saucepan saute the onions and asparagus, add 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock, salt and lower the heat, cover til the onions and asparagus are cooked.

Put the vegi mix in the blender and puree until smooth - texture shld be creamy. Use caution using hot liquids in blender.

In the same sauce pan roux* the flour with butter. Add 1/2 cup of vegi broth and the puree vegetables, whisk some lemon juice and pepper and garnish with Parmesan or spring onions or some chili oil. Serve hot!!

* Roux (pronounced "roo") is a thickening agent for soups and sauces with roots dating back more than 300 years in French cuisine.

Made by cooking a flour and oil paste until the raw flavor of the flour cooks out and the roux has achieved the desired color, a properly cooked roux imparts silky-smooth body and a nutty flavor while thickening soups and sauce. - taken from allrecipes.com

To make a roux - heat butter in a saucepan, lower the flame add the flour and roast the flour - you will get rid of the raw flour smell. Make sure it is white, ( you cld have a darker color roux - but not for this soup). Enjoy !! Have a wonderful weekend :)


Joining at the "soup it up" party hosted by Nupur and  Kalyani  And "Gimmie green" hosted by Chef Al dente- all the best for your first blog event :)