Asparamawhoosit What??

So. Once upon a time, a long time ago, I took someone dinner, and also gave her some Nutella because, well, it's one of the best foods on earth.

And that was the end of that.

Or so I thought.

Until Monday. When this woman showed up at my door with a bag of fresh asparagus and a recipe. Apparently ever since I gave her the Nutella, and we shared our mutual admiration for hazelnuts, she's been wanting to get me the ingredients to go with this recipe.

For Asparagus and Hazelnut Soup.

(short pause while you ponder that, because, if you're like me, you never would've thought of those two things in the same thought, much less the same soup)

Have you ever had someone do something very sweet for you, like that, and yet didn't quite know how to react? I was pretty sure no one in my immediate family would like Asparagus and Hazelnut Soup. Not to mention the output issues that come (to some people) with asparagus. But I thanked her, because, really, whether I liked the soup or not wasn't the point, was it? She had been planning this very sweet thing to do, and had brought me just what I needed with the recipe!

But, then again, I'm not always as brave as I pretend to be, so the asparagus sat for a few days in my fridge, making me feel guilty. Because, just between you and me, I wouldn't have thought twice of NOT making the recipe, and just passing on the asparagus to my asparagus loving parents, were it not for the sweet thought behind it.

Today I got my brave on, and decided to make it. Well, a half recipe. For my lunch.

You know me, I did kimodify it a little. One because I didn't have celery. Which really ought to be a produce staple, yet wasn't to be found in my fridge. Two, because ... I'm me. I couldn't help it. I added just a little fat free half & half to make it a little creamier, and because I had some to use up. And, thirdly, because I apparently can't read.

I give you ... Slightly Kimodified Asparagus and Hazelnut Soup.

Wanna know something surprising? It's really good! I am serious! I like it! It's also very RICH, with the hazelnuts pureed in it. I'm sure I didn't need the ff half&half kimodification after all. Oh, but I did reserve some of the asparagus, partway through cooking, to dice up and add back some veggie chunkiness to the creamy soup. I'm glad I did. The asparagus flavor is there, but subtle. The hazelnut flavor is there, adding a more complex richness than butter or other fat would've. It is a very rich soup, I couldn't make this part of a low fat, plant based diet. Unless it was a verrrry occasional part. With the dairy omitted. Which I think would work fine, really. It's rich enough it didn't need the butter, and thick enough it didn't need the white sauce to thicken it. Whoa, and I just re-read the recipe to type it and realized that I put in WAY more hazelnuts than it actually called for. I could've sworn it said 2 cups! Whooops. No wonder it was soooo rich and creamy!

Karen, if you've never tried a soup like this, you should, I think you'd like it.

The recipe was copied from a cookbook, but I don't know which one or I'd give credit where credit is due.

Asparagus Soup With Hazelnuts

2 lbs fresh asparagus
3/4 cup hazelnuts* (I used 1 cup chopped hazelnuts for the halved recipe, whoops)
Boiling Water
4 cups chicken broth (I used about 2 cups, or enough to cover the asparagus in the pot)
1 rib celery, sliced (omitted)
1 tsp dried basil
5 T. butter or margarine (I used about 1 T. butter for my halved recipe)
4 T. all purpose flour (I used a little more than 1 T. for my halved recipe)
salt to taste
cayenne pepper (that's what you see sprinkled so pretty on top in the pic)
1/2 cup fat free half & half - cause I had it on hand and need to use it up

Clean asparagus and break off tough ends. Break into 1" pieces.

Cover the hazelnuts with boiling water and let stand about 5 minutes. Drain the nuts and place them in a thick turkish towel. (What, doesn't everyone have one?) Rub to remove the skin. Most, but not all, will be removed. (Note: Yadda, yadda, I didn't do all that. Starting with the 'Cover the hazelnuts' I just opted for the lazy mom way. I used chopped 'recipe ready' nuts which did have some skin on them, but ... whatevah.)

Combine chicken broth, celery, basil, and asparagus in a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and simmer until asparagus is tender, approximately 20 minutes (depends on the size of the asparagus).

Here I reserved some of the cooked, cut asparagus, just a bit before it was all very very tender.

During the last 5 minutes add the hazelnuts.

Puree the mixture in a blender and strain into a clean bowl. (Strain? I didn't strain.)

Melt the butter in a pan (I used the same one), whisk in the flour until smooth, and add the blended soup, stirring constantly until thick and smooth. And a pinch of cayenne pepper and adjust salt.

Garnish with lightly steamed small asparagus tips.

Serves 6-8

Enjoy! Even if you're not sure you will. :-)

Maybe, just maybe, I'll use the other half of the asparagus to make it again, tomorrow, only use the right proportions of asparagus and hazelnut, and omit not only my kimodified half&half, but also the butter and flour thickener.