Asparagus, leek and potato soup
Smooth and creamy,but cream-less, this asparagus, leek and potato soup topped with a goat cheese medallion will help you celebrate the arrival of Spring.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 ounces goat cheese
- 2 pounds leeks, cleaned and sliced, including white and light green parts
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 T butter, divided
- 3 pounds asparagus, cleaned and cut into 2” pieces, 1/2 of tips reserved
- 1 pound yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 8 –10 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 6 ounces greek-style or homemade yogurt (optional)
- 1/2 cup lemon juice, to taste
- 2 t dill
- 1 t salt
- Pepper to taste
- 1/2 t red chili pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup finely sliced chives
Instructions
- Make goat cheese medallions by cutting the goat cheese log into 8 slices. They will crumble. Place each slice along with any crumbs between a folded sheet of plastic wrap. Shape each cheese slice into a medallion shape, and set aside until ready to serve.
- In a large soup pot, sauté leeks and garlic in olive oil until they are limp. Add asparagus pieces, including 1/2 of the tips, to soup pot and cook a couple more minutes until asparagus are bright green. Reserve remaining half of asparagus tips for garnish.
- Add potatoes and about 8 cups of stock to the soup pot so that all of the vegetables are well covered. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove from heat and blend using either an emersion blender, a food processor or a blender. See post on cream-less pureed soups for more detailed instructions.
- Adjust pureed soup to desired consistency by adding more stock. Bring back to a brief boil and turn off heat. Add yogurt and lemon juice. Season to taste with dill, salt, pepper and red chili flakes.
- In a small frying pan, melt butter and briefly sauté remaining asparagus tips until they are bright green and al dente, cooked, but still firm.
- Pour soup into bowls, top with a medallion of goat cheese, a few asparagus tips and a sprinkling of chives.