How's everyone holding up? Has cabin fever set it yet? I'm embarking on my third week of being home during this pandemic. The kids seem to be handling it better than I am, but all is well. I can't complain.
I've been cooking up a storm, and the more I cook, the more I hate to waste things. I now keep a bag in my freezer of all produce scraps so I can make veggie broth. No bone-cut of meat goes to waste in my house without making stock, and lately, I have been boiling my citrus peels for a natural air freshener.
So, I decided to dig up an old post of mine that used the ends of the asparagus to make soup.
It so funny reading my old posts. Now that "Little Guy" is The Teenager, and he still likes asparagus! So does his little brother, Little Bean, who was only a month old when I made this the first time. Two weeks ago, he celebrated his 9th birthday!
Anyway, here you go. It's more of a tip than a recipe. Stay safe!
Quick Asparagus Soup: Don't Throw Away the Ends! Was originally posted April 12, 2011
I'm lucky. Both husband and child LOVE asparagus. It took years to convince The Husband, but Little Guy has always been a fan, eating them like French fries when he was just "the toddler." He and I still use our fingers when having them with dinner. 🙂
Our favorite way to eat asparagus is simply roasted with a tiny amount of olive oil and some kosher salt.
However I decide to prepare it, I always start like this…
The ends get cut or snapped off and thrown away.
I always thought this was such a waste, but it was all I knew. It's just the way it is. You throw away the ends of the asparagus. Right?
Well, No MORE!
I was watching Rachael Ray the other day, and she mentioned that the ends could still be eaten and used for soup. That was all I needed to hear.
The next time I made asparagus, I saved the ends and boiled them in a bit of homemade chicken stock.
Then I blended them with a hand blender.
I was shocked at how good it was! Without adding anything else, the taste was divine! Like a fresh bowl of spring!
So I served it as it with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and some bacon bits.
It was a perfect soup! For me, anyway, I loved it. I didn't even bother to have The Husband taste it. It's just not his thing. The Little Guy wasn't around, but next time I'll get him to try a sip. He's not the biggest soup person, but I'm curious what he thinks of the taste.
So next time you are about to through away the ends of your asparagus… DON'T! Even if you don't have time to make the soup right away, throw the ends in the freezer. You can always make it another day.
I love not wasting anything!
Al Hardy
I agree. I use the blender and also chicken stock. I add a little sea salt and black pepper. Very tasty.
Dulcie
Absolutely! !!! I hate wasting anything. So I put some asparagus ends in the freezer thinking I will come back to this. Reading your own comments above was all I needed.....I am now making soup and can not wait to taste the results! Sometimes just reading that someone else had the same thought us enough to motivate me!
Marilyn
Just peel the thicker stalks for less fiber.
Jara
I made this the other day using a Cook's Illustrated tip for cooking broccoli for soup- add about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the asparagus ends as they are cooking in the broth. Apparently it makes the cell walls break down easier for a smoother consistency. With a touch of grated cheese it makes a great soup.
roni
Great tip! I have tons of frozen tips in my freezer. I'll give it a shot!
Nicole
I have some ends in the freezer waiting to be made into soup; once I have the ends from a 2nd bunch I'll have a little bit more to play with!
I'm also going to throw the green parts of half a leek in the freezer bag (the other half is going into the chicken stock I'm making tonight!). Trying to get less waste out of the veggies I buy!
Jessica Cali
I will be trying this!! I am about to do some asparagus with dinner - so I'll make sure I keep the ends! The men in the house don't like soup but I love it! Thanks for this 🙂
Hailey
Thank you for saving another bunch of ends from the trash pit! wanted to roast then make roasted asparagus soup in my vita mixer with my soup button (best thing ever) you all might be interested in the homemade enzyme cleaner with your citrus apple and pineapple rinds google it super easy and fresh and it makes a great face cleanser too made a remarkable difference in one wash! happy cheap and better new year
Dorene Hodin
Hi Looking forward to trying your soup. This time of the year I am always asked to bring my strawberry asparagus salad, so I always have stem ends left.
here is my recipe 2 bunches of asparagus cooked crisp tender and chilled. 1 pint strawberries hulled and sliced. dressing 1/4 cuo sugar, 2 tbs vinegar, 1 tbs poppy seeds, 1 1/2 tsp sesame seeds, 3/4 tsp grated onion, 1/8 tsp paprika, 1/8 tsp worchershire sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbs water. Put in jar and shake to disolve sugar. Add 1/4 cup oil and shake again and chill for 1 hour. Layer asparagus spears in 9x13 glass pan, spread strawberries over the top and then sprinkle 1/4 cup or more of blue cheese crumbles on top. Re-shake dressing and pour over the salad. enjoy!
Jennifer
The idea of this soup was amazing. It's winter so fresh asparagus is not readily available. I used canned asparagus (1 can) which was easier to puree since it has been softened from the water in the can. I used other reviewer's suggestion and added butter beans (half a can). I pureed the asparagus and beans in the blender, poured into a sauce pot, added 1 cup of fat-free chicken broth and heated to a boil. I topped with Roni's original bacon bits and grated parmesan along with a 1/2 tablespoon of crushed almonds. The flavor combination of the asparagus, nuttiness of the cheese and almonds, and the creamy "oomph" from the beans made this soup absolutely delectable!
Thank you Roni for providing the inspiration for such a quick, simple, and yummy soup.
Tina
Bummer, mine turned out stringy too. It tasted good though, but I couldn't get past the stringy texture. Tried blending it like crazy but still no luck.
roni
Emily - I thin it depends on how mature the asparagus is. I had much better luck with younger ones. They are less fibrous. Sorry it didn't work out for you.
Emily Freeman
I used the ends and they were so stringy I had to throw the soup away it was awful, the ends I had must have been just too fiberous. I even used the food processor!
Allison K
Roni, I'm back after a couple years, and back on OLD WW - and you have a baby! It's crazy. Just wanted to say thanks for continuing to share so many great ideas. I'm having blast looking through all the 'new to me' recipes.
I too, love asparagus, and it's this kind of thing that makes me want to bite the bullet and get a VitaMix... instead of throwing those asparagus ends into the compost!
roni
I do! It's just asparagus and broth! Totally 0 points!
Mo
Roni,
What do you figure the points would be on the soup- Zero before adding the sprinkle of parmesan cheese and some bacon bits?
Susie Bee on Maui (Eat Little, Eat Big)
Roni,
Made this last week and used vegetable stock-it wasn't very good-overpowered by the stock. Made it today with vegetable broth-AWESOME! I added a tsp of cream and some grated parm and...yum yum! Thanks for passing along the tip.
roni
The first thing that comes to mind is not cooking them enough in the broth. Make sure they are soft before blending.
The second thing would be to simply blend them more. Not sure if you can see in the pic but there is some "fibrous" texture to the soup. It's not completely smooth.
Hope that helps!
The great thing about this idea is you can keep trying becuase you are just going to trough the ends out anyway! 🙂
Hila
Hi Roni,
I made this soup and it came out very stringy! any suggestions on how to fix it or why this might have happened?
Diane
Pour through a sieve or strainer into another pot and continue cooking.
roni
I was going to say the watery level is just adjusting the asparagus to broth ratio but adding pureed beans is simply genius!
Rachel
Hi Roni...I made this soup yesterday to bring for lunch during the week and it seemed a bit watery for my liking; so I blended a can of butter beans and added that to the soup and it is soooo good!! Gave it a cream of asparagus soup consistency without a drop of cream! I also added a little cayenne pepper to mine because I like my soup with a kick 🙂
Sam
Saved my broccolini stalks last night and thought of you :0) LOL
Sam
I make this kind of soup all the time. I usually start with a bag of frozen peas (rinsed) plus anything else i have lurking in the fridge - baby carrotts, spinach etc. I use stock or just water if i dont have any stock and it is YUMMY. The color is so vibrant that you just know it is good for you :0) Never thought of using the stalks of anything so a whole new frugal world has just opended up to me :)))))
Jennifer
A delicious topping to asparagus soup... as weird as it sounds... is popcorn! Add a few kernels to the top like croutons... yummy. When I was abroad in Ecuador, they'd make this for me! I love it. Will have to try your recipe!
Amy @ A Little Nosh
I recently discovered asparagus. I never ate it because I always thought it smelled weird, but now I make it with olive oil and kosher salt and I love it. I buy it every time it's on sale.
roni
Joline - It's really about size....
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/kosher-vs-table-vs-sea-salts/index.html
I use kosher and sea salt but becuase I like the bigger granules.
Michelle @ Turning Over a New Leaf
Oh no! I just threw away a bunch of asparagus ends two days ago! Oh well. Spring ain't over. 🙂
Crystal
You're so smart and resourceful...I love it!
Roz
GREAT idea, thank you! My days of being an "end tosser" are no more!!!! Have a great day.
TheGourmetCoffeeGuy
What a neat post and so useful! We love eating asparagus but do end up throwing away the ends...Not anymore, thanks to your post. Looking forward to some great and quick asparagus soup soon. Thank you for posting!
Ana
Roni - Apologize for the newbie kitchen question. I am just venturing into cooking. For your margarita asparagus - when you say roast, is that in the oven? what temperature? Thanks!
Jan
Awesome idea!
Kim
Love when great tips happen like this!!! Thanks!
BabyBumpFitness
This is great, I love this food. I love food- thanks for posting these great recipes.
Jacqueline
Baby Bump Fitness
Barbara
I nned this a couple of nights ago.
But I know to save them now.
thank you
barbara
Princess Dieter
OH, MAN! I made asparagus night before last. I threw away a ton of ends. DANG.
Thanks for rescuing those pricey veggie bits.
susiebeeonmaui from eatlittleeatbig
I hate throwing those ends away-thanks for the tip!
Tamara
Yay, I'm so excited to try this! I actually bought three bunches of asparagus this week and was planning to use one tonight to make Gina's (Skinny Taste) Cream of Asparagus soup. I'm going to make yours as a separate batch so I can see what my kiddo thinks. Hooray for spring produce!
Joline
Roni, I have a question about kosher salt....is it a lot different than sea salt? What are the benefits of cooking with kosher salt vs. sea salt? I rarely use real table salt, so that I won't ask about. thanks!
Sarah
Kosher salt is really koshering, or "kashering" salt. The larger grains are intended for drawing blood out of meat to make it kosher. Because of the large grain size it doesn't require additives to improve the flow while pouring and prevent clumping. It may or may not have iodine added, which table salt generally does, for health reasons (many people were iodine deficient in the past). Sea salt is a specialty salt which doesn't require added iodine and usually has no additives. Ultimately salt that we consume all comes from the sea, or from dried up seas, but some people swear by the health benefits or taste of sea salts, especially from certain regions. If you aren't fussy about that you can use kosher salt interchangeably.
Ann
That looks so yummy! I do the same thing with my broccoli stems (the rough part when you buy the whole bunch instead of just the crowns), but I never thought about doing it with asparagus. Thanks for the idea!
Kelly
This is the most awesome thing - ever.
I HATE throwing away the ends of the asparagus. I can't wait to have soup!