Soup's on!

We're currently stuck in between winter and spring here in New York, and it seems like just as it's starting to warm up, we get dumped on with snow. Last week was no exception. It start snowing early Thursday morning, and didn't stop until late Friday evening. Aside from wanted to stay in bed all day (which did not happen due to work), all I could think about was home made soup! Since pulled pork was on the menu Saturday night, soup was the perfect thing to round out my weekend on Sunday!

I've had a pound of asparagus in my fridge for a few days so I definitely had to make use of it before it rotted. I found a great recipe for creamy asparagus soup in my SHAPE Lowfat & Easy recipe book.

Before making this, I didn't think I was going to like it. I thought that the asparagus would be overpowering. I was completely wrong! The mixture of the broth with milk and sour cream tamed the strong asparagus flavor and really brought out the warm, rich flavors of it.

Recipe:
1 lb fresh asparagus, tough ends removed and stalks cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 14.5 oz cans reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1 cup nonfat milk
3 tbsps cornstarch
1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:
1) In a large saucepan, combine asparagus, onion and 1 can of broth. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until asparagus is tender. Cut off asparagus tips and set aside.
2) In a blender, puree remaining asparagus mixture until smooth. Return puree to pan, add remaining broth and bay leaves and bring to simmer. Whisk together milk and cornstarch. Add milk mixture to pan and simmer 2 minutes, until mixture thickens, stirring constantly.
3) Place sour cream in a small bowl. Add a spoonful of asparagus mixture and stir to heat sour cream. Add sour cream mixture to saucepan along with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Simmer 1 minute, to heat through. Remove bay leaves and discard. Ladle soup into bowls and top with reserved asparagus tips.

I'd recommend this recipe to anyone interested in making a homemade soup. Enjoy!