Asparagus Soup with Lemon & Romano Cheese

Last week we finally made our Hanukkah dinner: homemade latkes, baked salmon and roasted asparagus. I always feel so wasteful scraping the woody ends of the asparagus spears into the compost bin. This time—as our dinner guest was witness—I scraped them all into a bag, tossed them into the fridge and vowed I would make soup within a week.

I kept my promise and made an incredibly simple, incredibly delicious asparagus soup in less than 30 minutes. You can too. Here’s how:

Sauté a large shallot in a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a half tablespoon of butter until soft. Add asparagus stems (cut or peel the toughest woody end) and a handful of fresh herbs (I used rosemary and thyme) and sauté a few more minutes until the asparagus softens. (Note: I ended up buying a few extra spears of asparagus. I added some tips and pieces to the soup and saved just a few tips for garnish.) Add 3 cups of broth (I used chicken), bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Carefully ladle the soup into a blender and puree to desired thickness. Return soup to pot, add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice and season to taste.

Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and float a few blanched asparagus tips on top. I think crispy homemade bacon bits would also be a delightful garnish. Thankfully, I have plenty of leftovers.

I love that this soup is low in fat and doesn’t call for heavy cream or any dairy, other than the optional grated cheese and a little butter, both of which could be easily omitted. With those adjustments, a vegan or vegetarian version would be a simple modification—just use veggie broth.