Asparagus Soup with Lemon and Parmesan
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This asparagus soup tastes rich, yet it’s made without heavy cream – just veggies, broth, and a bit of Parmesan cheese puréed to silky perfection.
One of my favorite soup recipes, this creamy asparagus soup is made without heavy cream—just vegetables, broth, and a bit of Parmesan cheese puréed to silky perfection. It’s perfect for early spring when asparagus is in peak season and there’s still a chill in the air. Serve with a focaccia or a good artisan bread.
What you’ll need To Make Asparagus Soup
How To Make Asparagus Soup
Begin by melting the butter in a large pot. Add the onions and garlic. Cook until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
While that’s going, prep the asparagus. Trim off the tips (you’ll use them for a garnish), then cut the remaining spears into 1/2-inch pieces.
Add the chopped asparagus to the pot, along with the chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are very tender. Purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, you can blend the soup in batches in a blender.
Return the soup to the pot and stir in the fresh lemon juice and grated Parmesan cheese.
Finally, cook the asparagus tips in salted boiling water for a few minutes until tender-crisp.
The best way to preserve the bright green color of the tips and keep them crisp is to shock them in an ice bath, but you can also refresh the tips under cold running water.
Finally, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the asparagus tips, Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs (if using), and freshly ground black pepper.
More Spring Soups You May like
Asparagus Soup with Lemon and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 bunches asparagus (about 2¼ pounds/1 kg), bottom ends trimmed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from one lemon
- ½ cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Handful fresh herbs, such as thyme, dill or basil (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Do not brown; reduce the heat if necessary.
- In the meantime, cut the tips off of one bunch of the asparagus and set aside (you'll use those for a garnish). Cut the remaining spears and the other bunch of asparagus into ½-inch (13-mm) pieces.
- Add the chopped asparagus to the pot (minus the reserved tips), along with the chicken broth, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender.
- Meanwhile, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the reserved asparagus tips for a few minutes, or until tender-crisp. Drain the tips and then place them in a bowl of ice water to "shock" them—this stops the cooking process and preserves their bright green color. Once the tips are cool, drain them and set aside.
- Purée the soup with an immersion blender until completely smooth. (Alternatively, use a standard blender to purée the soup in batches, then return the soup to the pot.) Bring the soup back to a simmer and stir in the lemon juice and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. To thicken the soup, allow it to simmer, uncovered, until the desired consistency is reached.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, then top each bowl with asparagus tips, Parmigiano-Reggiano, herbs (if using), and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this exactly as written and it is fantastic!
This is FABULOUS! It’s easy, tasty and I’ve shared this recipe with several friends. They, too love it!
thank you.
Excellent, and easy to make as per instructions! Also, and as recommended, it wasn’t necessary to strain the asparagus after cooking because the blender did a great job at breaking down the fibre (though I did try to strain too). I used relatively slender stems of asparagus in the springtime.
What a hit! Tried this out on our guest last night. We all loved it. And make sure to buy the Parmegiano/Reggiano cheese. It makes it really pop!
I made this soup tonight and it was delicious!
Thanks!
Can you serve this as chilled asparagus soup ?
I like it better hot, but yes, you can serve it chilled if you prefer!
What do you do with the Onions and garlic??? It mentions nothing when to add them! Do I add after I strain the asparagus? Missing info on this in the Recipe!!
Hi Allen, Sorry if you found the recipe confusing! You add the chopped asparagus to the pot with the sautéed onions and garlic and proceed from there. Please let me know if that clears things up for you. Hope you enjoy it!
I made this again but this time using the hand held blender . Fabulous !!!!
My, oh my. So simple and SO good. Since I had only one bunch of asparagus, I halved the ingredients and it made two bowls worth. I know because I ate both bowls. The flavors came together like a symphony..the pepper, the lemon, the parmesan…ungh! I lightly pan toasted the tips together with some pistachios. GREAT recipe. I bookmarked this blog, cuz I will be back!
FABULOUS! I prepared this soup exactly as the recipe describes and it was WONDERFUL! I baked the asparagus tips in the oven until crispy while the soup was cooking and used them as a garnish….DELISH!! Love, love, love this recipe!