I love soup, even in the summer months. I just make lighter soups or serve cold soup. Like this chilled cream of asparagus soup with almonds and thyme. It’s so rich and creamy, almost like a savoury dessert as a starter.
Chilled Cream Of Asparagus Soup With Almonds And Thyme
Summer recipes in Scotland have to be as versatile as the weather. You can never just guarantee that a cold meal, a salad or indeed a chilled soup will do the job. Some days it is almost like winter here and you are back wanting comfort food, hot warming soup, pastas and bakes.
This delightful asparagus soup swings both ways so to speak. It straddles the weather like an edible colossus of taste.
What are the ingredients for this quick and easy asparagus soup
- Asparagus
- potato
- onion
- garlic
- Fresh thyme
- Chicken or vegetable stock
- Flaked almonds
- Greek yogurt
How to make cream of asparagus soup
This is a really quick and easy soup recipe. All you have to do is saute the onions in a little olive oil till tender adding the garlic for just a minute or two. Then add the potato peeled and diced (cut it small so it cooks quickly) and the chopped asparagus. Keep some of the tips to decorate your soup.
Add in the stock. Want to go vegetarian then use a good vegetable stock instead of chicken. Toss in the thyme leaves and some seasoning and simmer for about 15 minutes. This is when I like to use a stick blender as it is just so quick and easy and saves on having to wash up the blender. Get your soup nice and smooth and stir in the Greek yogurt to make your asparagus soup even creamier.
Can you serve this asparagus soup hot?
Yes, there are two options here. You can serve this cream of asparagus soup hot straight from the pan in bowls. It is absolutely delicious that way or you can do as I have done and serve it as a cold soup.
How to serve this creamy chilled soup
Once the soup has been blended and made even more luxurious with that Greek yogurt leave it to chill completely. When you are serving a chilled soup it should be served really cold. Once it has cooled down in the pan decant into serving glasses or dishes and poop it into the fridge so that it is really chilled when you come to serve it.
We haven’t forgotten the flaked almonds I mentioned in the ingredients. Now is the time to get a dry pan and gently toast the flaked almonds till just coloured and emitting that gorgeous nutty aroma. Watch the pan like a hawk and whatever you do don’t answer the phone or anything. These little goodies burn really quickly and are completely useless. As soon as the almonds have cooked tip them out of the hot pan on to a saucer.
There are two reasons for this; 1. If they stay in the hot pan they will continue to cook and of course burn. 2. You need the pan to cook those asparagus tips that you saved from making the soup. Simply add a knob of butter to the hot pan and saute the asparagus tips till tender.
Remember those asparagus tips that you held back at the beginning of the recipe. Well now is the time to gently fry them in a little butter till tender.
Pop a couple of the asparagus tips on top of the chilled soup and sprinkle with the toasted almonds and a few picked thyme leaves. Maybe add a little dollop of extra Greek yogurt too, it will just make this chilled soup even more creamy and delicious.
Can you freeze asparagus soup
Yes, simply pour the soup into a freezer proof container, label and freeze for up to three months. I like to freeze my soup in freezer bags and then freeze flat on a baking tray. Remove the tray once frozen and then I can stack lots of flat packed soups and take up a lot less valuable freezer space.
quick and easy chilled cream of asparagus soup with almonds and thyme
This simple cream of asparagus soup with almonds and thyme is both pretty and rather luxurious. It is smart enough to serve at a supper party or rather posh lunch in the garden. On the other hand as this chilled soup is so damn quick and easy to make it is the perfect lunch to whip up and treat yourself to something just a wee bit special.
Looking for more easy asparagus recipes? Then why not check these out;
Ham and asparagus pizza bianca with honey and brie
Salmon broccolini and asparagus traybake
Easy chicken and asparagus risotto
Finally, if you do try this quick and easy chilled cream of asparagus soup with almonds and thyme then don’t forget to leave a comment/rating below. I love hearing from readers and respond to everyone just as quickly as I can. Want more Larder Love, then follow me on Instagram and Facebook and sign up for my free weekly newsletter too.
Chilled cream of asparagus soup with honey and thyme
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 small potato peeled and diced
- 600 g asparagus ends trimmed and chopped into 1cm pieces (reserve some of the tips for decorating)
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (reserve some for decorating)
- 600 ml chicken or vegetable stock
- 4 tbsp Greek yogurt plus a little extra to serve
- 2 tbsp flaked almonds
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
- In a soup pan saute the onion in olive oil till softened and add the garlic for last minute of cooking
- Add the potato, asparagus and thyme and also the stock
- bring to boil then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes, season to taste
- blitz with a hand held blender till smooth and stir in the Greek yogurt
- Add a little water or more stock if the soup is too thick
- Let the soup cool completely and chill in the fridge till ready to serve
- Meanwhile in a small dry pan toast the flaked almonds for about 1 minute till they are golden and aromatic, tip them out on to a saucer
- Add butter to the hot pan and saute the asparagus tips till tender
- Serve the chilled cream of asparagus soup in glasses with some asparagus tips on top, a spoonful of Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of the toasted flaked almonds and some thyme leaves
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