Potato-Asparagus Soup

A few weeks ago, when I went out to lunch with Roni from www.ronisweigh.com  my sister got cream of asparagus soup.  She made me try it, and it wasn’t that  bad!  I am about to return all my Vegan books to the library since I finished my paper for my nutrition class, and decided to just look through one of the cookbooks one last time to see if there is anything else I would like to make.  And, wouldn’t you know it, there was a recipe for potato-asparagus soup.  It’s not hard to make at all.

•  3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks.  
• 1 pound asparagus, rough ends discarded, tips cut into 2 inch pieces, lower part cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 3 cloves of garlic
• a few dashes of black pepper
• 4 cups vegetable broth, or chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• juice of 1 lemon

1. Place potatoes in a stockpot and cover with cold water.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.  Add the asparagus and boil for 3 minutes, drain and set aside.
2. Rinse out the pot, then in the same pot, saute the onion in the olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes.  
3. Add the garlic, salt and black pepper, and saute 2 more minutes.  Add the broth and bay leaves, boil for 10 minutes, discard the bay leaves.  
4. Add the potatoes and asparagus, heat through, then carefully puree in a blender in small batches.  Or use an blender stick to puree the soup.  You can add a squeeze of lemon if you wish.

This recipe comes from the cookbook “Vegan with a Vengeance” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.