asparagus leek soup with a drizzle of meyer lemon juice, fresh herbs and edible flowers

 

Hello spring turns to summer with a bowl of asparagus leek soup, a drizzle of Meyer lemon juice, fresh herbs and edible flowers.  This is an easy delicious creamy soup to make and becomes barely a kitchen project with the addition of Meyer lemon juice, fresh herbs and edible flowers for decoration.  I happen to be a lucky person who has a Meyer lemon tree potted up in my backyard.  These are my lemons and I cherish each one I pick off the tree, making a special effort to put them to good use in my kitchen.  I love to make everything from lemon curd or lemon pie or lemon squares to just using lemon slices in my water or tea.  I also have two mandarin orange trees in pots; they don't take up much space and make a fantastic fruit snack, a reward after a good outdoor walk.  My asparagus leek soup is fragrant and creamy without using any cream.  I use vegetable stock, a bunch of skinny asparagus, one medium leek, unsalted butter, olive oil, sea salt and white pepper, plus the lemon juice-that's it.  Plus my Garni of fresh herbs, edible flowers and a few reserved asparagus tips.  You will need a standing blender or stick blender to purée the soup but really it couldn't be an easier to make two generous servings of fresh asparagus leek soup.

Recipe and Ingredients for Asparagus Leek Soup with a Drizzle of Meyer Lemon Juice, Fresh Herbs and Edible Flowers, serves 2 generously

1 bunch skinny asparagus, trimmed and rinsed in water
1 medium leek, trimmed and washed

3-4 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper, or to taste

Sea salt to taste

1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice

Fresh herb sprigs, marjoram

Edible flowers, pansies 

Cut off the woody ends of asparagus, slice into 1-2 inch pieces.

Cut off the green ends of the washed leeks, slice into 1/2 inch pieces.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy dutch oven or soup pot.

Stir the asparagus and leeks into the hot bubbly butter/oil combination, sauté for several minutes, until barely tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Fish out a few asparagus tips and set aside for garnish.

Pour in the vegetable stock to just cover the veggies, adding more as needed.

Simmer the soup until asparagus and leeks are tender, cool slightly and add the Meyer lemon juice.

Blend the soup, adding additional broth to thin soup if needed.

Divide the soup between two large soup bowls and garnish with fresh herbs and edible flowers as you like.