Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Asparagus Soup with Green Garlic and Eggs



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'm not a vegetarian, much less a vegan, but I have been known to make some darn good meatless meals. We had a guest this weekend who avoids meat, and I wanted to serve  a really nice meal that I knew she would enjoy. I have lots of meatless recipes, many of them developed specifically for her, but she visits so often that I've worked my way through the recipes I'm really proud of. While searching for new ideas and options, I found a recipe for asparagus soup that had been developed by Martha Shulman for The New York Times. The recipe was unusual in that it uses green garlic. Green garlic is young garlic that is harvested before the cloves have begun to mature. When pulled, it resembles a large scallion with a deep green stalk and a pale white bulb. It can be found in farmer's markets for a week or two in the springtime. While its flavor is unique an adequate substitute can be fashioned by combining one small leek with one large garlic clove. The soup is really easy to make and the only spot that might cause you trouble is the tempering of the eggs. If you follow the directions in the recipe below, you'll be fine, as long as you remember the soup must stay at a low, slow simmer once eggs are added. I also recommend that this be done just before you plan to serve the soup. I let my soup sit for a while and the lovely creamy broth began to turn green. The wait time did not affect the flavor of the soup, but it did lose some of its eye appeal. This is a really nice spring soup and I heartily recommend it when asparagus is in season . I hope you'll come back tomorrow when I'll be featuring the vegetable crepes that were served with it. Here's the recipe for the soup.

Asparagus Soup with Green Garlic and Eggs...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Martha Rose Shulman via The New York Times

Instructions:
1 pound asparagus
5 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
1 bulb spring garlic, separated into cloves if cloves have formed, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 large eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup pasta or rice, cooked, or 4 to 6 slices toasted Italian bread (optional)

Directions:

1) Break off woody ends of the asparagus stalks. Combine them with stock or water and garlic in a soup pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer 15 minutes. Remove asparagus stems from broth with a slotted spoon. Discard Stems. Season broth to taste with salt and pepper. Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces and add to broth. Simmer 8 to 12 to minutes. Asparagus should be tender and fragrant, but remain bright in color. Do not overcook.
2) Just before serving, beat eggs, cheese, and parsley together in a bowl. With soup at a bare simmer, whisk a ladleful into egg mixture, stir well and then whisk back into soup. Have the soup at a bare simmer. Making sure that the soup isn’t boiling, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture. Stir well and whisk back into the soup. Whisk constantly over very low heat for 3 minutes, then ladle into bowls and serve over a toasted slice of peasant bread or over a large spoonful of pasta or rice. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.








One Year Ago Today:  Cottage Cheese Rolls

















Two Years Ago Today: Curried Cream of Cauliflower and Apple Soup











31 comments :

SKIP TO MALOU said...

This is something my husband will love. I may substitute the green garlic tho... but thank you for sharing the recipe.
malou

Ginny Hartzler said...

I learned something new, I had never heard of green garlic!!! They never seem to use it in any of the cooking shows and I never knew such a thing existed.

Ginny Hartzler said...

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information on succotash, we just loved reading it together and will not forget this story!!!

LoveT. said...

Love it! Great Meal :)

xoxo

Jeanne said...

Love all you share.
Thank you for your kind visits and lovely words.
Love Jeanne

Katarina said...

I would like this soup! Looks delicious! Have a great day!

Rachana said...

A lovely recipe! Thanks for sharing :-)

Tanna said...

I didn't know about green garlic! This does sound very, very good! I love asparagus... and garlic. ;) blessings ~ tanna

From the Kitchen said...

We are soup lovers here and when asparagus is in the equation, it's a winner recipe. Our green garlic season was a few weeks ago so will substitute. Thanks to air conditioning, we enjoy soup in the summer as well as in the winter.

Best,
bonnie

Ellen B Cookery said...

Thanks to your post last week, Mary, I now love the flavour of eggs and asparagus together in a dish. So why not try this soup too! This sounds so tasty!

Kim said...

Ohhhhh you call it green garlic, we call it fleur d'ail (garlic flower), and it's so good! I bought some of it 2 weeks ago. Even if I used some, I did'nt know what to do with the rest of it! I'll probably give a try to your beautifull soup!

Priya Suresh said...

Super inviting soup.

Tender B. said...

Interesting the use of eggs in soup. It has been years since I experienced something like that. Looks good.

Unknown said...

I have a friend that this will be perfect for too! I never seem to be able to come up with good meatless meals when she visits - thank goodness she usually isn't picky! Can't wait to wow her with this!

Ana Regalado said...

This is such a delicious one-dish meal ! I've seen some spring garlic few weeks ago , it was given free of charge when I bought some veggies at the wet market :D

Unknown said...

Mary, this not only sounds/looks delicious, the name is fun enough to be in a Dr. Seuss book!

Jane said...

Very interesting soup! Will have to give that a try. Thanks! :) Have a great day!

Barbara said...

Really an unusual soup, Mary. I eat asparagus several times a week...this would be a natural fit for me. Wonder if I can find green garlic at the farmer's market?

David said...

Mary, I love almost anything with asparagus! Rice, Eggs, Cheese and asparagus with Garlic... Nice combination! Thanks for the recipe. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Unknown said...

This soup sounds absolutely delicious..and it's gorgeous too!

Suzie said...

We were just discussing eating soup in the summer on another blog. I can eat soup all summer long. This looks amazing Mary :)

Kathy said...

Love this soup…so creamy and delicious looking! Yum!

Anonymous said...

looks yummy! i love asparagus at this time of year!

Dining Alone said...

This looks awesome, I love asparagus. I have never tried green garlic, I will have to look for it.

Daniela said...

A delicious soup. congratulations for the beautiful presentation.

Blond Duck said...

I can't wait to try this when it's not 110.

Blond Duck said...

I can't wait to try this when it's not 110!

Catherine said...

Dear Mary, This looks like a very delicious soup. I love asparagus. Blessings friend. Catherine xo

Joanne said...

How delicious! I actually have some green garlic in my fridge right now that I bought at the farmer's market this weekend! Need to try this.

Anonymous said...

What a great soup recipe - I'm not a vegetarian either but LOVE vegetables - looking forward to a bowl of this!
Mary x

momgateway said...

My grandma used to make something similar but the green garlic is totally new and would add such amazing flavor.

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