vegan - Asparagus Potage with Garlic Cream

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Asparagus Potage with Garlic " Cream "

 

Recipe By :The Voluptuous Vegan - Myra Kornfeld and George Minot

Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories :

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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1 pound asparagus -- hard ends removed

salt

3/4 pound leeks, white part only -- cleaned and finely chopped (2

cups)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 pound potatoes, preferablu low-stach and

thin-skinned -- peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

4 cups Basic Vegetable Stock

Tarragon garlic " cream "

1 medium head garlic -- separated into cloves and peeled

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup water

5 sprigs fresh tarragon

freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

 

Cut 1 1/2 inches of the tip of each asparagus spear. Bring a saucepan of salted

water to a boil; add the asparagus tips and blanch uncovered until tender (rinse

in cold water to stop cooking). Set aside.

 

Warm the oil in a medium pot. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt, and saute over

medim-low heat for 7 minutes, or until the leeks are softened but not browned.

Add the potatoes, asparagus stems, and stock, and bring to a boil. Lower the

heat, stir in 1 teaspoon of salt, and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes,

or until the potatoes are tender.

 

Make the garlic cream: In a small saucepan, combine the garlic, oil, water, and

tarragon. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender. Transfer

to a blender and puree, adding a little liquid from the vegetable pot if needed.

Stir the cream into the soup and mix well. Puree the soup in a blender or with

a hand-held immersion blender.

 

Return to the pot. Adjust salt to taste and season with pepper and lemon juice.

Add the reserved asparagus tips and reheat if necessary. Serve sprinkled with

chopped parsley.

 

Garlic must be peeled before almost all uses. To loosen the skin, whack the

garlic clove (same goes for a shallot bulb) with the flat side of a knife

against a cutting board, pressing once hard with the heel of your hand. Then

peel the skin and cut off the root end and any brown spots. The clove can now

be minced, sliced, or chopped. Before chopping, remove any green shoot that may

be growing through the garlic. A medium clove of garlic yields about 1 teaspoon

minced. And an average head usally has about 12 such cloves in addition to a

few tiny ones near the center. I have noticed a tendency for garlic to become

bloated nowadays, with heads sometimes containg extra-large cloves. You should

subtitute one larger clove for two or three of the medium size.

 

Description:

" This thick green potage is best made with slender asparagus, since

the delicate tips make a lovely garnish. A tarragon garlic " cream "

gives the soup extra-rich flavor. "

 

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 111 Calories; 11g Fat (88.9% calories

from fat); 1g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 2mg

Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Fat.

 

 

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0