Author Notes
When we moved to our current house 33 years ago, the backyard was a flatland save for two sticks that called themselves trees, a three-foot lilac bush and a small, 4 by 10 empty garden plot. My Dad, an avid gardener, came over armed with cuttings from his herb garden: thyme, sage, chives, garlic chives, oregano, and lovage. He told me that the lovage would give me years of wonderful celery flavor for soups and stews and would grow like a bush every year. Well, all these years later, the two sticks are over fifty feet tall, the lilac is huge, and the lovage comes back every year. —inpatskitchen
Test Kitchen Notes
This is a nice spring soup, was fresh and the flavors all came together effortlessly. Because of the potatoes, it turned very creamy and resembled a soup that you'd assume was cream based. At first I thought there was too much liquid, but using an immersion blender, everything came together perfectly. Between the white asparagus and the large amount of dill, the asparagus flavor was a little more muted than I hoped for, but it made for an easier soup to eat. I couldn't find lovage so I substituted celery leaves. The flavor didn't stand out enough to be included in the title but did add a nice depth. It made about 12 cups, not 7 as stated in the recipe. Only other big question was ingredients list called for fresh dill, but method mentioned stirring in both fresh and dried. I used all fresh which helped made a very bright, fresh spring soup! —Stephanie Bourgeois
Ingredients
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1 tablespoon
olive oil
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3/4 pound
green asparagus, trimmed
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3/4 pound
white asparagus, trimmed
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3 tablespoons
butter
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1/2 cup
thinly sliced shallot
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1 1/2 cups
peeled and diced new potatoes
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3 tablespoons
chopped lovage (or celery leaves if lovage is not available)
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6 cups
chicken broth
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3/4 cup
chopped fresh dill
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Salt and white pepper, to taste
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Sour cream, for garnish (optional)
Directions
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Heat the oven to 400° F. Rub the asparagus with the olive oil and roast for 20 minutes. Let cool a bit, then cut into 2-inch pieces.
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In a large pot, melt the butter and cook the shallots at low heat, until soft.
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Stir in the potatoes, lovage, and broth. Turn up the heat, bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes.
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Remove from the heat and stir in the dill and asparagus.
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Process in a food processor or blender, in batches, until smooth.
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Season to taste with the salt and white pepper. Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.
I think I get my love for food and cooking from my mom, who was an amazing cook. She would start baking and freezing a month before Christmas in order to host our huge open house on Christmas afternoon. I watched and I learned...to this day I try not to procrastinate when it comes to entertaining.
My cooking style is pretty much all over the place, although I'm definitely partial to Greek and Italian cuisine. Oh yes, throw a little Cajun in there too!
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