Serves 4 to 6

This elegant soup comes from Switzerland, where wild asparagus can be found in Alpine meadows as the snows recede.   A large bowl full accompanied by fresh, warm  bread is a comforting thing when the evenings of spring are still chill. A small bowl served with Garlic Toast Snippets makes a perfect prelude to an elegant springtime meal.

About 2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2 to 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon  Italian Seasoning or fresh herbs of choice

About 2 pounds of asparagus

4 cups of chicken stock or 2, 14.5-ounce cans

2 cups (1 pint) cream or half and half

Salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

Sour cream

Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet and gently sauté the onion and garlic with the herbs until the onion is softish and golden colored.  Set aside. 

Remove the bottom 1 or 2 inches from the asparagus.  Chop the remaining portion of the spears roughly and place in a pot with the chicken stock and cook until quite tender.  Allow to cool a bit, then puree the asparagus and stock along with the sautéed onion mixture.  Use a food processor, jar blender of emulsion blender.   Not having any of these modern marvels, you can of course always mash everything with a hand masher and then force through a sieve or strainer.  Yes, that’s how it use to be done.

Return this mixture to the pot, add the cream.  Heat on a moderately low burner while whisking.  Serve hot, garnished with a dollop of sour cream and Garlic Toast Snippets or Fresh Bread.