Chilled Asparagus Soup with Sorrel Goat Cheese Dumplings and Toasted Hazelnuts
This recipe takes the best of the Valley’s legendary asparagus and enhances its inherent taste in a pure, refreshing cold soup. To capture the fresh-faced vigor of spring vegetables, you should do as little as possible to them and rely on their extraordinary flavor. You want eaters to feel that they have never tasted asparagus, sorrel, fiddleheads, peas in such a pure and pristine form. One way to do this is by making stock from the vegetable’s trimmings. I like to save and freeze all excess trimmings from any asparagus preparation in anticipation of making this stock. After pureeing, you’ll swear, with its luxurious texture, that there is cream in this graceful soup. A small raft of tangy goat cheese, sorrel, and deeply toasted hazelnuts is set adrift into the verdant green pool to complete the composition. This adds an acidic and slightly bitter touch that brings a fullflavored roundness to every slurp without upstaging the asparagus.
Ingredients
FOR THE SOUP
- 2 pounds asparagus
- 1 large onion (or 2–3 medium local spring onions)
- 2 ribs celery (about 6 ounces)
- 1 leek (about 8 ounces)
- 2 quarts asparagus stock (recipe follows)
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley (reserve stems for stock)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE TOASTED HAZELNUTS
- ½ cup (2¼ ounces) hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon olive oil, divided
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
FOR THE GOAT CHEESE DUMPLINGS
- 8 ounces goat cheese (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon milk for thinning cheese, if needed
- ½ cup packed sorrel leaves, cut in chiffonade (thin strips)
ASPARAGUS STOCK
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed or vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces
- 2 celery ribs (6 ounces), washed and cut in 1-inch pieces
- 2 large carrots (about 5 ounces), washed, ends trimmed, and cut in 1-inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- Reserved parsley stems
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 15 crushed black peppercorns
- Reserved asparagus trimmings
- 2½ quarts water
Instructions
To prepare asparagus:
- Rinse and cut each stalk in 3 sections. Set aside the tough bottom 2 inches for stock. Set aside center of stalks for soup. Trim off the tips (top inch) and blanch in boiling salted water for 1½ minutes. Immediately shock in water, drain, and reserve to garnish the soup.
To prepare onion, celery, and leek:
- Peel and dice onion. Wash celery and dice small. Trim leek, discard tough green ends, halve leek lengthwise just to the core, wash and dry, then cut on the bias in ¼-inch slices.
To make the soup:
- In a large pot over medium low heat, add the remaining oil and cook the onion, celery, and leek for about 10 minutes, covered, or until the vegetables are translucent but not browned. Add the stock, cover, and cook about 15 minutes.
- Add the asparagus stems to pot, and cook uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the asparagus are tender. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley. Puree soup in batches until smooth. (Take care with the hot soup. Do not fill blender more than ⅓ full.) Strain through a medium strainer into a bowl set in an ice bath. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cool the soup quickly (vigorous stirring will help), cover, and refrigerate. When ready to serve, adjust the seasoning and consistency as you prefer (add more stock if a thinner soup is desired).
To prepare hazelnuts:
- Toss nuts with ½ teaspoon oil and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and roast in a 375° oven for 10 minutes, tossing after 5 minutes. Cool, chop coarsely, and reserve for garnish.
To prepare goat cheese dumplings:
- Smooth goat cheese with a spatula, adding a bit of milk if it is too thick. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then mix in the sorrel. Form the goat cheese into dumpling shapes with 2 spoons.
To serve:
- Place 1 cheese dumpling in the center of each bowl. Place the blanched asparagus spears on top of each cheese dumpling, carefully ladle the soup around the goat cheese, and garnish with the reserved hazelnuts.
ASPARAGUS STOCK
- Whenever you prepare asparagus, save any trimmings in the freezer to use in this stock.
- In a large soup pot at medium heat, add the oil and remaining ingredients (except asparagus and water). Slowly cook, covered, 8 to 10 minutes while stirring regularly and being careful not to brown. Add the water and raise heat to simmer. Add the asparagus trimmings and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth and set aside (or cool completely, cover, and refrigerate).
Notes
Many farmers markets have sorrel in the spring, but finely cut baby spinach and a little lemon zest will make an acceptable, albeit different, substitute.
