Thursday, May 22, 2014

Cream of Asparagus Soup and Asparagus Tart

Soup
1 pound fresh asparagus
½ c chopped onion
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth*
2 T butter
2 T all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 cup milk
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Rinse asparagus and cut into 1” pieces. Add to a large saucepan with chopped onion and ½ cup broth. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until asparagus is tender – about 12 minutes. Let cool 5 mins and process mixture in a blender to puree. Set aside.

In the same saucepan, melt butter over low-medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Whisk in the remaining chicken broth and increase heat to medium. Cook until the mixture begins to boil and reduce to a low simmer. Stir in the asparagus puree and milk.

Put sour cream in a small bowl and stir in a ladleful of the hot soup. Add the lemon juice. Stir mixture into the saucepan of soup and heat on low to serving temperature but do not boil. Serve soup immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com              *vegetable broth can be substituted




Tart
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
10 to 12 thin asparagus stalks
½ red onion sliced
2 cups shredded white cheddar
3 T Dijon mustard
1 tsp milk
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Coat asparagus and onion with 1 tsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill for 5 to 10 minutes till vegetables are tender but slightly firm. Cut onions into smaller bite-sized pieces. Set veggies aside.


Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment. Lay puff pastry down on parchment. Using a sharp knife, lightly score about ½ inch inward around all four sides of the pastry. This will allow the pastry to puff around the filling, framing it. In small bowl mix mustard and milk. Carefully brush over the inner square of the pastry. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese. Carefully lay out the asparagus and onions covering as much of the inner square as possible. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Pull out and sprinkle remaining cheese over the pastry, sprinkle with additional black pepper, and bake for 5 minutes more or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes and then cut into desired portions. Best eaten same day.

Original Recipe