cream of asparagus and mushroom soup

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3 slices bacon
• 1 tablespoon bacon drippings
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 potato, peeled and diced
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, tips set aside and stalks chopped
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
• 3/4 cup half-and-half cream

Recipe

Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 40 mins Ready Time: 55 mins


• place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. crumble bacon when cool; set aside. reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings.
• melt butter with drippings in a saucepan over medium heat.
• cook and stir celery and onion in the saucepan until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.
• whisk flour into the mixture and cook for 1 minute.
• whisk in chicken broth and bring to a boil.
• add potato and chopped asparagus stalks, reserving the asparagus tips for later. season with salt and ground black pepper.
• reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
• pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.
• cook and stir mushrooms and asparagus tips in the same skillet used for bacon until mushrooms give up their liquid, 5 to 8 minutes. season with salt and ground black pepper, if needed.
• stir mushrooms, asparagus tips, and half-and-half cream to pureed soup. cook until thoroughly heated.
• garnish soup with crumbled bacon.