Oh how the time flies, since we last met at the end of November… Cookie Parties and the holidays have flown by, a new job was started, birthdays celebrated, we’ve moved and Urban Kitchen is still “Urban” technically, yet with a traditional flair… baby Ruszkowski was born, Valentine’s Day celebrated ( we have pictures of our dinner and can post in rewind I suppose), wisdom teeth removed, unpacking done and now it is mid March and we have finally settled down a bit, kinda, and are finally able to bring a gorgeous photo shoot and step by step process of this delicious NEW recipe. The best thing about this recipe is that it is a warm bowl of SPRING, even on the dreary cold night we had. Second best thing is the chopping is SO easy since it doesn’t have to be uniform, you are just going to blend it’s goodness up, which makes this a quick soup. It’s very creamy even though there is no cream in it, just delicious vegetables and stock with a perfect runny egg to give a rich boost ( we also love this asparagus egg combo for breakfast) Ok, enough talk, check it out for yourself, we’ve broken down the process and even added a poaching egg tutorial skip to the bottom to see the full list of ingredients and method.
Chop your onions and celery, add to a big bowl
Chop your leeks, add to another bowl and fill with water. Agitate the leeks and separate them with your fingers and let rest, the dirt/ sand will sink to the bottom and the clean leeks will float along the top, skim the leeks out of the water by hand and shake to remove any drips add to the bowl with onions and celery
Trim the woody ends off your asparagus, toss. Trim the tops and reserve to the side. Chop the remaining stalk of asparagus, keep in a bowl
Add olive oil and heat you large deep pan over medium heat
Then add your onion, leek and celery mixture
Saute slowly over medium heat till softened, about 10 minutes.
Then add your chopped asparagus, and chicken stock
Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 20 minutes
Use good STOCK, not broth, it has more flavor
Here goes the Poached Egg Tutorial! While your soup cooks you have plenty of time to make these- use a small bowl to crack you egg in to- this makes the water drop part much easier and avoids shells
Have your eggs ready to go, these we had at room temperature for 30 minutes
using a small sauce pan, fill with 1.5″ water and a splash of vinegar bring the temperature to just about boiling, see those little bubbles forming- that’s perfect
keep your heat low and steady
using a slotted wooden spoon, stir the water to make a whirlpool effect
pour you egg right in the middle, close to the water ( not plopped from high above), and go slowly so the yolk and white don’t separate
using a small pan allows you to just let it cook without much stirring, after 3-4 minutes check for doneness by scooping it up with your slotted spoon. The whites should be firm and the yolk should be a deep golden color that is very springy to touch- runny when broken
place eggs on a paper towel lined plate while you cook the rest, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste
Meanwhile, slice your bread and turn on the broiler or grill pan
ciabatta bread make perfect toasts for soup
line up your slices and drizzle with olive oil
season with salt and pepper
line up seasoned toasts under the broiler for 5-8 minutes
they should be golden and perfectly crisp
after 20 minutes, the soup is ready to blend
after it is blended smooth, add in those reserved asparagus tips
Stir them in and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes- till they are tender
Now you are ready to assemble all components: serve the soup in your bowl topped with a couple toasts and a poached egg, open the yolk up to blend in to the soup before taking your first bite…. enjoy!
Recipe Adapted from Jamie Oliver
Serves 8
Ingredients
- 1.75 lbs asparagus, woody ends removed
- olive oil
- 2 medium white onions, peeled and chopped
- 2 sticks celery, trimmed and chopped
- 2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
- 64 ounces organic chicken or vegetable stock
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 8 eggs
- 8 slices ciabatta bread
- 1 tablespoon butter
- extra virgin olive oil
Method
Chop the tips off your asparagus and put these to one side for later. Roughly chop the asparagus stalks. Get a large, deep pan on the heat and add a good lug of olive oil. Gently fry the onions, celery and leeks for around 10 minutes, until soft and sweet, without colouring. Add the chopped asparagus stalks and stock and simmer for 20 minutes with a lid on.
While the soup is cooking, poach your eggs and toast your ciabatta slices.
Remove from the heat and blitz with a hand-held blender or in a liquidizer, add in butter. Season the soup bit by bit (this is important) with salt and pepper until just right. Put the soup back on the heat, stir in the asparagus tips, bring back to the boil and simmer for a few more minutes until the tips have softened.
To serve, divide the soup between eight warmed bowls and place a piece of toast into each. Put a poached egg on top, cut into it to make it runny, season and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
When I lived in Sheboygan, I was a frequent dinner guest of one of my favorite co-workers. She made seemingly simple ingredients truly sing, without recipes. Her pan seared and wine braised chicken thighs come to mind right away and then this amazing salad she always made with fennel, cilantro, and lime- I never ate fennel this way, truly I can’t remember fennel before this salad! Anyhow, we had some fennel on hand and cilantro and lime, so it was meant to be recreated and brought me back to the kindness showed to me when I was alone and so far from Jason, my friends and my family. Thank you. I added cherry tomatoes on top of the original recipe it adds a variety to the crunchy texture of the fennel and look at the colors…
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