Cottage closing weekend, a bit early

This year we had to close the cottage down a bit early because of weekend obligations. It’s never fun but we’ve got it down to a science so it generally goes smoothly.

Because it’s a work weekend, I try to make most of the food easy and fast. For the first time in months, we were able to sneak away from work early, around 2ish, which means we’re on the road by 3! Of course, the gods of traffic hate us, and we barely made it up in four hours!!! Should be a 3.25 hour trip. But we made it.

I made an asparagus soup the night before. I generally keep a baggy of asparagus ends in the freezer and take out as needed. Because they are usually the end you discard anyway, it’s basically free. For this soup, you will need more than you think because a lot of it is discarded after it’s run through a fine sieve (it’s mostly the woody parts, but they are still quite tasty.

Creamed Asparagus Soup (serves 2 as main course or 4 as small cups)

2 cups asparagus stems (I generally use the ends which I have snapped off over the summer months and frozen)
1-2 cups low sodium chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 slices prosciutto
2 thinly sliced crusty bread
1/4 cup grated gruyère


Thinly slice prosciutto and fry until crispy in a little oil (1 tsp)
Drain crispy prosciutto and set aside.
Using about 1-3 tsp olive oil, rub both sides of bread and toast until crispy. Set aside.
Using 1 tbsp olive oil, sweat out the onions until soft, add the asparagus stems which have been cut into about 1 inch lengths.
Add 1 cup chicken stock and cook until the asparagus is very soft.
Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth (you will need a good motor because the woody stems may cause problems).
Once you have puréed the soup, ladle into a fine sieve and press through using the back of your ladle (do not skip this step, the woodiness of the stems will make this soup inedible if you don’t strain it!). Add more stock until desired consistency has been achieved.
While keeping soup warm, sprinkle the gruyère evenly onto one side of each toast. Place under broiler for a minute until cheese is bubbling.
Ladle soup into two bowls, gently top with the gruyère toast and sprinkle with the prosciuto crisps. Serve hot
Enjoy!

Check out the photos from the weekend.

Posted in Recipes, Soups, Vegetarian, Weather