Great spring time soup. Fast and easy to make. Asparagus were on sale and I bought a pound and a half. I used about 3/4 of a pound in this soup along with a cup of frozen peas. The white pepper really adds a nice flavor. I used my immersion blender and puréed the soup right in the pot. You could double the amount of liquid to make a thinner soup but I like it thicker with more fiber in the soup. If you wanted to simply add more liquid and strain it for a smoother soup. I just ate it with a good hardy grain bread and some butter. Great as a meal but also a wonderful first course.

Asparagus and Pea Soup serves 4-6
Prep Time 5-10 min
Cooking Time 30 min
Ingredients
1 medium onion chopped
3/4 pound asparagus chopped
1 cup frozen green peas
2-4 cups chicken broth (add up to 8 cups depending on how thin of a soup you want).
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper (can use black)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

In a kettle with 2 tbsp olive oil sauté onion until soft add chopped asparagus that have been cleaned and woody bottom of stems removed and discarded. Sauté until they begin to soften and you can smell them cooking. Add the frozen peas and liquid. Cover and simmer for 20 min or so until they are soft but for that nice bright green color do not over cook. (I had pencil thin asparagus and mine were done in 10 min.) at this point use an immersion blender to purée the soup right in the kettle. So much safer than a blender but if that is all you have purée in small batches in your blender. Be careful with hot liquids when you are doing that. After puréed stir in Parmesan cheese until well blended. Serve. Enjoy the fresh spring flavor.