Asparagus Soup in a Ham Broth
Alsatian Style Asparagus Soup
Description
Mr. Stone Soup Cook and I love asparagus soup and sample it any time we find it on a menu. A few years ago, we were traveling through the Alsace region of France in the spring, at the height of white asparagus season in that region. We found asparagus on almost every menu we sat down to, and it was truly our version of heaven! We started almost every meal with a cup of the house asparagus soup. They were all delicious, but we quite fell in love with the recipes that used ham broth instead of chicken stock or water. Ham and asparagus are a wonderful pairing, and you will see several other recipes where I pair the two for a most fruitful marriage.
Ham Stock
Ham Stock
In a heavy 3.5-4 quart stock pot, add the ham bone or ham hock, onion, celery, garlic, carrot, bay leaf, peppercorns, lemon juice, chicken broth and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the ingredients are boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer for 4-5 hours.
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Peel and trim asparagus
If you have large, thick asparagus, peel the bottom 1/3 of each asparagus stalk. By peeling the bottom portion of the asparagus stalk, you will only need to trim the bottom inch or so of the stalk because peeling the stalk will remove the fibrous outer layer, exposing tender, sweet flesh.
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Trim the asparagus and roughly chop them.
You will probably need to trim only about an inch off the asparagus after peeling, but if the stalk feels tough, trim a little more. Since you'll be cooking them in the broth and then pureeing them in the blender, it's not critical that you remove all the fibrous parts of the asparagus.
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After about 4 hours of simmering the ham stock, and stirring occasionally, taste for seasoning, and add accordingly, remembering that you will be adding two bunches of asparagus. Simmer a little longer to blend the flavors if you added more seasonings, and then drain the broth into another pot, catching the stock ingredients in a colander. Discard the vegetables, but pluck the ham pieces out and save for future meals--especially if you're using a ham hock--there's a LOT of good meat on a good ham hock!
At this point, add the asparagus into the broth and bring to a boil. Boil for a couple of minutes--you want to cook the asparagus until they are just tender, but still nice and green in order to retain that lovely green color.
Transfer the whole mixture to your Vitamix or blender and puree the mixture until it is a very smooth consistency.
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Make a roux
In the pot, add a couple of tablespoons of butter and melt over medium heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour and blend, cooking for a minute or two, but don't let the roux get dark.
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Add the pureed soup a little at a time to the roux, mixing thoroughly as you add the soup in order to avoid lumps. Once you have added all the soup, bring to a simmer over medium heat until it is heated through, but not boiling.
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Serve in rimmed soup bowls with some fresh cut up asparagus and a drizzle of cream as garnishes. Serve with Keri's Killer Bread or fresh sourdough. Enjoy with a nice Pinot Grigio or, better yet, a nice, crisp champagne!
