my kitchen

asparagus soup (and the 22 percenters)

January 14, 2013

I love asparagus–if not solely for its intriguing influence on urine.

I mentioned this to someone recently and they had no idea what I was talking about. I just assumed everyone had funny smelling pee after eating asparagus. It turns out only 22% of the population has the autosomal gene required to detect the odd, and very distinct odor, of asparagus tainted urine. Now this is really weird…  say someone eats asparagus and deems themselves unaffected by this phenomenon. As one of those 22 percenters, and under very strange circumstances, I would be able to smell that persons funky asparagus tainted pee, but they wouldn’t be able to. How truly fucking weird is that? [source wikipedia]

I made this asparagus soup a few weekends ago and decided it was worthy of a repeat performance. The best part of this recipe is that it’s a one-pan low-mess few-ingredients endeavor.

You will need

  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 shallots
  • 32 oz chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
  • 1 1/2 pounds of asparagus (fresh is best)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup shaved asiago
  • 2T of olive oil

Yields 5-6 servings.

I highly recommend getting a blend stick if you don’t already have one. I use a Cuisinart Smart Stick emersion blender [Amazon affiliate link]. What’s fantastic about an immersion blender is the ability to blend right in your cooking source. Transferring hot soup into a food processor? Forget it! This particular model is solid, weighty and easy to clean.

Dice onion and shallots and sauté in olive oil until they start to turn clear.

Add the asparagus. Note: Instead of using all of the asparagus, I like to cut the tips off and set aside for the end. The rest of the asparagus can be chopped into 1-2 inch lengths and added to the pot to sauté and sublimate with the onion and shallot (20-30 minutes).

Add 32 OZ of chicken (or vegetable) stock, cover and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour or so. (Don’t boil!)

After things are getting nice and soupy it’s time to break out the emersion blender. Blend soup until smooth.

Add 1 cup of shaved Asiago and 1 cup of milk, cover and simmer for another 15-25 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the remaining asparagus tips and give it another 10 minutes.

That’s it!

I’m very curious! Are you a 22 percenter? Leave a comment!

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3 Comments

  • Avatar
    Reply Robere January 14, 2013 at 1:24 am

    Another fantastic blog entry. Nice to see your badge on display. Congrats.

    BTW, I have no clue if asparagus causes my pee to smell funny……….maybe I need to pay more attention to that.

  • Avatar
    Reply Chrissy January 14, 2013 at 7:01 pm

    Did Santa bring you Let Creuset? So jealous of that incredible pan. I have stovetop pan envy. And of course, the soup..magnifique!

  • Reply If it's not a vanity project, why publicly blog? March 16, 2013 at 10:42 pm

    […] Is it merely a facet of the artistic temperament to display oneself so blatantly? In the past this… this wont for the stage used to be arranged by organizing an art show or convincing my co-workers to come see me and my band perform in some dank shitty basement bar. Now it’s, “Hey! Check out my asparagus soup recipe! Click here!” […]

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