Green asparagus is not the norm here or anywhere in Europe (that I know of).
White is preferred; the bigger and fatter the better.
In Spain, I have seen a 1 pound (450gr) jar of white asparagus with only 1 spear inside. (Unlike in the US, 'canned' vegetables often come in clear glass jars; asparagus, almost always.)
For 10 months out of the year the asparagus served and eaten comes in a glass jar, fresh is rarely available.
During the other 2 months there are huge mounds of it with sharp-eyed, sharp-elbowed little old ladies picking it over carefully.
To be honest, I don't know what they're looking for. I don't know how to judge an asparagus spear greater than an inch (2.5cm) in diameter.
I buy the third kind - violette, pictured below. They're normally long, slender spears, and always tender.
They lend themselves to similar preparations to green asparagus - grilling, roasting, frying.
When it comes to soup, though, I will search out the green. White asparagus soup just doesn't look right!
And it's such a lovely soup for spring. I like to make it earlier in the day and serve it chilled, but it's equally good served warm. You can use milk or cream in place of some of the stock for a creamier version.
1 medium onion 145gr, 5.1oz
1 small - medium potato 125gr, 4.4oz
12oz (350gr) trimmed green asparagus 350gr, 12.4oz
1 1/2 - 2 cups chicken stock 450gr, 16oz
2 tsp butter 9.5gr, .34oz
2 tbs Greek or plain yogurt 37.5gr, 1.3oz Yogurt
Chop onion. Trim asparagus and cut into 1" (2.56cm) lengths. Reserve 2 - 4 tips for garnish. Roughly chop potato. Heat butter in medium saucepan. Add onion and sauté until tender and transparent, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus, potatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are done, about 15 minutes. At any time, drop in the reserved asparagus tips and boil for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
When potatoes and asparagus are tender purée in blender, using only as much stock as needed, reserving the rest. Add as much of the remaining stock to get your preferred consistency. Add more chicken stock if you like. I used 2 cups. The soup can be served hot or made ahead to this point, chilled and served cold.
To serve: ladle into soup plates, put 1 tbs yogurt in the center and garnish with asparagus tips.
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Entire Recipe / per serving
Calories:
370
/ 185
Total Carbohydrates: 53 / 26.5
Dietary Fiber: 15 / 7.5
Total Fat: 12 / 6
Saturated
Fat: 7 / 3.5
Cholesterol: 42 / 21
Protein:
18
/ 9
Calcium: 216 / 108
Sodium:
792 / 396
I try to be accurate, but I do not guarantee it. I use 'grams' as the unit of weight; with an approximate conversion to ounces.
For more recipes check out my internet cook book: Easy Gourmet Dinners
