Chilled Spring Soup

This Soup is made in many ways all Summer long, but is especially good in the Spring, when the onions are fresh, the asparagus is plentiful and herbs are abundant. Later in the Summer, it will morph into maybe a fennel variety, finished with a bit of fresh French tarragon, or maybe a pungent garlic topped with a bit of lump crab. Whichever way it’s done, it’s smooth. It’s velvety. It’s delicious.

The fundamentals of this recipe are the same, even if  some of the ingredients change. First and foremost, this is a soup thickened with potatoes. Remember that and you will be fine. Today, I scavenged some early spring onions from the garden–about two cups worth, once all was washed and chopped. I really wanted that onion flavor to shine, so I also added one Vidalia onion to the mix, chopped equally coarse. The asparagus is singing right now, so I grabbed six or seven stalks of that as well. This was all chopped and placed in my pan along with one half cup of good butter. It was placed over medium heat and kept a close eye on, being stirred often. Once the layers of the onions began giving up on themselves, one quart of homemade chicken bone stock was added (vegetable stock may and has been substituted when I want something strictly vegetarian), along with one and a half cups sliced pealed white potatoes. The lid of the pan was applied and this was all left to simmer and spurt until those potatoes were tender. Just as the stove was turned off, a handful of fresh thyme was thrown in and the lid reapplied. The mixture was allowed to cool and once it was, was ladled into a blender, and, once blended, ladled into a sieve, just to make sure there were no chunks, This needs to be completely smooth. A half cup light cream is stirred in, as well as salt and pepper to taste. The soup is then placed in the fridge where it will finish chilling. Once it is, it’s ready to be served.

Now. About all those variations I was talking about. The potatoes need to stay the same, as well as the butter and some form of stock. Other than that, the sky is the limit. Red peppers instead of spring onions and asparagus? Fine. Carrots? Equally fine. Like I said before, sometimes, I just use a lot of garlic. Or fennel. All work and work well. And the variations don’t need to stop with the soup, either. The garnish can change, too. With the carrot, I might place a single candied pecan in the middle. With the garlic, a bit of lump crab. With the soup I made today, because I was highlighting the onion, I went with a bit of diced chives. Now. If you’re of the kind and sort who needs an exact recipe and this idea of “winging it” has you just a bit freaked out, not to worry. I make this soup all the time. I’m sure it’s variations will show up here now and again.