Cream of Asparagus Soup

I had cream of asparagus soup for the first time a few summers ago in Mexico and fell in love. Since then I've wanted to make some, but I never had enough fresh asparagus on hand. I bought 2 lbs of asparagus this weekend and decided to make some soup. The recipe I found was good and I had everything for it on hand! Here's what you need:



2 lbs asparagus, ends snapped and cut into pieces

4 Cups chicken stock

8 Tbsp butter (I always use unsalted butter so I can control the sodium)

4 Tbsp flour

2 Cups half and half (I used the fat free kind)

kosher salt

pepper



Put asparagus and stock into a medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until asparagus is very soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside 2 cups of the broth and keep warm. Puree asparagus and remaining broth in blender then return to the pot and set aside. Melt butter in a medium heavy saucepan over low heat. Add flour and cook stirring constantly with a whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in reserved broth, increase heat to medium and cook, stirring, until smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to pot with asparagus puree. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Slowly add in half and half. Season to taste with salt and pepper.



Note: Make sure to puree the asparagus well so you don't have large tough pieces in your soup. You can also strain the soup to make sure there aren't any large pieces.



Enjoy!