Asparagus and Walnut Soup

Asparagus and Walnut Soup

I'm embarrassed.  Someone sent me an Asparagus Soup recipe, I printed it, and now I don't remember where it came from.  So thank you, whoever you are.  Please contact me and let me know who you are.

That being said, I changed this recipe considerably, for several reasons.  First, the recipe called for cashews.  I made this on a rainy Sunday afternoon and I did not want to go to the grocery store.  I had walnuts on hand, and that's what I used.  Because of that, I had to make up some of the steps needed to make the walnuts usable.  Second, I could not quite follow the recipe as written, so I added a few extra ingredients and a few extra steps.  I'm fairly sure that this soup is at least close to the recipe that was sent to me.  Either way, the end result was a pleasant surprise.

---Enjoy

Asparagus and Walnut Soup

1. Blanche the walnuts and set aside.
2. Heat extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat in a soup pot
3. Stir in the onions, celery and asparagus.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and sweat the ingredients until tender, about 30 minutes.
4. Add 2 quarts of reduced sodium chicken broth, walnuts and bay leaf.  Increase the heat to high/medium high and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.
5. Remove bay leaf, add spinach and blend with an  immersion blender until the mixture is smooth.  (If you do not have an immersion blender, transfer the mixture in batches to blender, blend and return to the soup pot.) 
6. Add marjoram, lemon pepper and lemon juice and cook for 5-10 minutes.
7. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Blanched Walnuts  I never heard of blanched walnuts, so I did not research on how to accomplish this.  I just treated them like almonds, and it worked great.  I covered the walnuts with water and brought the water to a boil.  I left the walnuts in the boiling water for 1 minute and then dumped them into a collinder to drain.  It worked great.

Ingredients 2 lbs fresh asparagus 2 cups raw shelled walnuts 1 medium onion chopped 2 stalks celery chopped 2 cups fresh spinach 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon marjoram 1 teaspoon lemon pepper 1 tablespoon lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste Garnish with sour cream.