Cream of Asparagus Soup
- 20-25 stalks of asparagus
- 10 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp chicken-base
- 4 cups white wine (Recommended: Pinot grigio)
- 3 quarts heavy cream
- 1/2 cup drawn butter
- 1 sweet/white onion, finely diced
Dice the asparagus, keeping several of the heads for later use as a garnish; dice the sweet onion. While you're doing this, put the butter into a medium-to-large size pot over medium-high heat. Once you've diced the onion, place it and the cloves of garlic (whole) into the pot. Saute for about five minutes, increasing heat to high. (If it doesn't sizzle when you put it in, it isn't hot enough.) Thereafter add in the chopped asparagus, saute for about ten minutes, till you really get to smelling the asparagus cooking.
Pour in 4 cups of white wine (though 5 doesn't hurt), and boil it till it reduces by about a quarter--just enough to knock some of the alcohol out but leave the flavor intact. Once it has reduced as such, use a small hand mixer and puree everything till it makes a green mush in the pot. At this point you're ready to add in the heavy cream. Don't be worried, put in all of it.
Stir continually till hot, at which point add in the chicken-base. (I do not recommend salt, though you may add a bit if you desire.) Give it time to combine, then taste it. The correct flavor will hit you first with asparagus and the slight taste of chicken thereafter. You can add more chicken-base if you like, but do not go overboard.
Filter the soup through a fine strainer to create a very fine, very creamy soup. Something like this is good the day of--but is far and away better served the day after it is prepared, as all the ingredients have had time to properly combine.
The day you serve it, saute the asparagus heads you've saved (little butter, little salt) and use them as a garnish for the soup; place them directly in the center of the bowl. It looks nice and tastes great.