Asparagus and Potato Soup

Our family loves soup. I make soup more often than any other category of food, particularly in the winter months, but I'm a fan of soup year-round. It's asparagus season now, making this the perfect time for some creamy Asparagus and Potato Soup. This recipe, like all soup recipes, is not fussy. I used sour cream in my soup, but otherwise it is vegan. Feel free to leave it out if you want a vegan dish, or add meat (ham would be delicious) to please the carnivores in your family. Basically, you can add or subtract what you want, change the amounts of the ingredients, make your soup thicker or thinner - anything goes. I used the microwave this time to pre-cook the potatoes before putting them into the soup pot in order to have dinner on the table sooner. You can cook your soup entirely on the stovetop if you prefer. Affiliate links below. 

Asparagus and Potato Soup

2 lbs. potatoes

4 cloves garlic
2 T. oil

3 T. Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base

2 lbs. asparagus

dollop of sour cream

Wash the potatoes, then cut them into thin slices. (There's no need to peel them unless you want to.) Put the potato slices into a large microwave-safe bowl with 4 cups of water. Microwave them for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mince the garlic. Heat the oil in a large pot and saute the garlic over medium heat until golden. Pour the water and the potatoes into the pot.

Add 4 more cups of water to the microwave-safe bowl, then heat until boiling. Stir in the vegetable base. When it is completely mixed, pour the broth into the pot. Cover the pot. 

Cut the tops off the asparagus and put them into the bowl with 1 cup of water. Set them aside for now. Cut the asparagus stems into 1" pieces, discarding or peeling any woody ends. Add the asparagus stems to the pot. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes, or until the asparagus stems and potatoes are tender. 

Microwave the asparagus tops for 2 minutes or until just tender. Set them aside again. 

Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Adjust the seasoning as needed and/or thin with the asparagus water as needed. Pour off any extra water from the asparagus tops. 

To serve, ladle the pureed soup into bowls. Add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl, stir gently two or three times, then garnish with a generous amount of asparagus tops. 

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Nothing goes better with soup than homemade bread, fresh from the oven. Tomorrow I'll share the bread I served along with the Asparagus and Potato Soup.