Asparagus Soup

Asparagus can be quite tricky to preserve without it turning into mush. Freezing does not seem to work very well as the stalks always seem to break down once thawed.

One can certainly pickle them, and we do but we want to preserve the flavor of the asparagus as close to fresh as we can. So far, we have not succeeded.

However, this soup does retain a good asparagus flavor and it is definitely tasty and filling! It is creamy soup but don't add the dairy until you serve as dairy does not preserve well.

Ingredients (7 quarts)

• ~12 lbs asparagus
• Stock (any will do, we use vegetable)
• 2 lg onions
• Water
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

1. Chop the onions and add to a pot with ~1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until the onions are soft.
2. Remove the asparagus buds and set aside.
3. Once the onions soften, add the asparagus stalks and enough broth to cover them and simmer until they are very tender.
4. Strain it all through a sieve. Set the drained stalks aside.
5. Wash the pot and return the strained soup to it.
6. Purée the stalks until smooth, you may need to add some strained soup to process.
7. Add the purée to the broth and bring this to a boil. Season with salt & pepper.
8. Evenly divide the reserved buds among the jars.
9. Fill with boiling soup leaving a 1" headspace.
10. Pressure can at 10 pounds for 40 minutes.

Images

25lbs of washed asparagus (double batch). 4 large onions. Chop the onions and add to pot with a couple of cups of water. Break off the buds. Add the asparagus stalks and broth to the pot. Strain the stalks from the broth. Purée the stalks. Back into the broth, heat and season. Add the buds to the jars and fill. Wipe, lid and ring, and into the pressure canner. Out of the canner and let them cool overnight.