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Asparagus Soup

Asparagus is very succulent and tender, spear shaped vegetable typically eaten for appetizer or a side dish. The end part is very tough and stingy and is usually discarded. Although peak season for asparagus is spring but you can enjoy this delectable vegetable throughout the year. Green asparagus is pretty common but there is one more variety which comes in white which are more tender, so I heard. Haven't used the white asparagus but I love green asparagus. It tastes wonderful when grilled or roasted but you can also make this amazing soup.

Ingredients
20 spears of Asparagus (roughly around 8 oz)
1 small onion diced finely
1 tbs butter
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbs All Purpose Flour
2(14.5 oz can Vegetarian Vegetable Broth)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tbs lime juice
Salt as per taste(Don't add too much salt as broth already has salt in it.)
Pepper as per taste

Method
Cut hard ends of Asparagus(about an inch from below) and discard, slice remaining asparagus. Cut of few spears and reserve for  garnish if desired.
Melt butter and olive oil in a pan and saute onions until translucent. Add diced asparagus and saute again. Add all purpose flour and cook for couple of minutes. Next pour in vegetable broth, season with salt, pepper and lime juice and bring to boil. Once boiled simmer on medium heat half covered for about 12-15 minutes or until asparagus is very tender. Cool the mixture, reserve about 1/2 cup and blend the remaining mixture  in a blender or food processor until smooth. Press the pureed asparagus through a sieve into another clean pan. Add milk through sieve to extract maximum asparagus puree. 
 Combine the reserved 1/2 cup soup with sieved asparagus puree and heat it for 5-7 minutes on low heat. Meanwhile saute the reserved spears in little bit of oil. Adjust for seasoning and garnish with asparagus spears.

Quick Tips-: How to store Asparagus?
Place bunch of Asparagus into a container filled with water. Bottom 1-2 inches of asparagus should be submerged in water. Keep the container in refrigerator. Never keep asparagus covered in plastic bag.


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