Sense of Home Kitchen
Roasted Asparagus Soup with Blue Cheese Custards
~Sense of Home Kitchen, adapted from Gourmet, April 2002~
Roasting the asparagus sweetens it slightly and adds another layer of flavor to this delicious soup. Remember a dish is only as good as the sum of its parts so if at all possible use your own homemade chicken stock or broth. The richness and depth of flavor in homemade stock cannot be compared to store-bought and is worth the small amount of extra effort (instructions here). Stock can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for a day or frozen or canned and stored for longer.
This soup can be a meal in itself, however, for dinner guests this makes an excellent first course.
Makes 6 servings
Special equipment needed: Six (2 oz) ramekins
Custards
2 1/2 oz Blue Cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 whole large egg
2 large egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of white pepper
Soup
2 medium leeks, white and pale green parts only (1 1/4 cups, when finely chopped)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 pounds asparagus, tough ends trimmed
5 cups low-sodium chicken stock (preferably homemade)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
To Roast Asparagus:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Wash and trim the tough end of the asparagus. Lay the asparagus in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Roast uncovered in a preheated oven until tender, approximately 10 minutes. Cool. Remove the tips off of nine of the asparagus, then half each of the six tips lengthwise and reserve for garnish. Chop the remaining roasted asparagus into 2 inch pieces and reserve for soup.
For Custards:
Prepare six (2 oz) ramekins by buttering them very well so the custard will slip out easily after cooking, set aside.
In a small heavy saucepan, over moderate heat bring blue cheese and half and half just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and steep, covered, 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Set a tea kettle full of water on the stove and heat until it begins to boil. While the water is heating, pour steeped cream through a very fine sieve into a bowl, pressing lightly on cheese solids. Whisk together whole egg, yolks, salt and white pepper in another bowl, then add steeped cream in a stream, whisking until smooth. Divide among six well-buttered ramekins.
Set ramekins in a baking pan, carefully pour just boiled water into the pan until the water reaches a third to half up the ramekins, place on middle rack in preheated oven and bake in the hot water bath until centers of custards are completely set, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer ramekins to a rack and cool 5 minutes.
Make soup while cream steeps and custards bake:
Cut ends off the leeks, leaving only the white and pale green parts, separate layers and wash in a bowl of cold water, then lift out, drain well, and finely chop the leeks until you have 1 1/4 cups. Sauté leeks, red onion, white pepper, and salt in butter in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until leeks and onion are softened, about 3 minutes. Add chopped, roasted asparagus and chicken stock to the soup pot and simmer covered for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice.
Purée soup in SMALL BATCHES in a blender until smooth. CAUTION: overfilling the blender with hot liquid will create a pressure and cause some of the hot soup to burst out even with the blender cover on. Transfer soup to a large bowl, taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper, if needed.
Serve soup with custards:
Working with 1 custard at a time, run a thin knife around the edge of each to loosen it, then invert a soup bowl over the ramekin and invert custard into bowl. Repeat with remaining custards. Ladle soup around custards and garnish with reserved asparagus tips, three on top of each custard.
Note:
Soup can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, uncovered, then refrigerate. Reheat slowly while making the custards.
Sense of Home Kitchen / Recipes / Soup
