This is a simple, light soup of puréed asparagus, accented by leek and jalapeño. The only other notable flavor is olive oil—your favorite, grassy variety. Beyond sea salt, I don't even season the soup. It is delicious to the point of addiction, yet light enough you can go dancing afterward.
Soup of Asparagus, Leek, and Jalapeño
Couple ingredient notes: I call for chicken stock, which really ought to be housemade, either in your home or from a local market. It truly matters here, because we don't add any cream or seasoning. If you don't have homemade stock, prefer filtered or spring water to anything in a can or carton. Whatever you use, I presume it is unsalted, and request you aggressively salt the ingredients as we saute them.
I call for two and a half pounds of asparagus, or roughly two large bundles from your market. This might seem like more than is necessary, but it works. I do request you trim and discard the woodsy bottoms rather aggressively, although you needn't peel anything that remains.
Makes 4-6 first course servings or 2-3 full meals.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons plus 4 tablespoons your favorite grassy olive oil
2 cups halved and thinly-sliced leeks (about 3 medium or 6 small), white part only
3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and sliced
2.5 pounds of asparagus, ends aggressively trimmed, cut into 1" slices, tops reserved
5 cups chicken stock, homemade if possible
2 tablespoons verjus (verjuice), substitute 2 teaspoons good white wine vinegar
sea salt, to taste
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add 4 tablespoons olive oil. Add the leeks and jalapeño peppers. Season well with sea salt. Saute until soft, translucent, and beginning to color, but not brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the asparagus slices, reserving the tops. Season with more salt. Saute, stirring, until the asparagus turns bright green, 1-2 minutes.
Add the chicken stock. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil until the asparagus is tender, about 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a stockpot of water to boil. Salt aggressively. Add the reserved asparagus tops and blanche until bright green and just edible, only about 30 seconds. Drain.
Blend until a light, smooth, puréed soup
Remove from heat. Let cool slightly and transfer to a blender, working in batches if needed. Blend first on low, then on high, until fully puréed and uniform. Add the verjus. While continuing to blend, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Taste and adjust sea salt.
Return to the warm pot, but do not return to the heat. Add the asparagus tips. Gently stir.
Ladle into serving bowls, ungarnished. Pairs as well as anything with a white wine of the Sauvignon Blanc grape from the Touraine Azay-le-Rideau AOC in Indre-et-Loire, France.
Note: If you want a more decadent soup, replace the second 4 tablespoons of olive oil with 4-5 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter. Slowly emulsify that into the blending soup for a wonderful treat.
