Makes 6 servings

Prep – 10 minutes

Cook Time – 20 minutes

PISTACHIO CREAM

1 cup water or stock

1 cup shelled pistachios

1 TBS chopped mint

2 tsp freshly squeeze lemon

SOUP

2 bunches of asparagus (about 2 pounds) tough ends snapped off, remain stalks peeled

3 TBS extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 leeks, white part only, chopped

1 Yellow potato, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

6 cups Magic Mineral Broth or store bought stock

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

To make the pistachio cream, put the water pistachios, mint, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a blender or food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Taste; you may want to add a bit more salt.

Cut off the asparagus tips and put the stalks and tips on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle the asparagus with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Toss evenly to coat. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Remove the asparagus tips from the baking sheet and reserve for garnishing the soup.

Heat the remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in an 8-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leeks, and a pinch of salt. Sauce for 4 minutes, then add the potato and a generous pinch of salt. Stir occasionally, allowing the potatoes to soften and the onion to turn golden. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Pour in 1 cup of the broth and deglaze the pot, stirring to loosen any its stuck to the pot. Add the remaining 5 cups of broth and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

In batches, puree the soup in a blender, adding the broth first, then the vegetables and asparagus. Blend until velvety smooth, about 2 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add more broth 1/2 cup at a time. Return the soup to the pot and gently reheat. Taste: you may want to add a pinch of salt or a squeeze of lemon.

Stir 1 cup of the pistachio cream into the soup. Ladle the soup in to bowls and garnish with the reserved asparagus tips. 

COOKS NOTES:

For an ultra smooth velvety texture, go one step further: strain through a fine-mesh sieve, using the back of a wooden spoon to push the liquid through. The ends of there asparagus can be stringy, so peeling just the ends will ensure that you have the smoothes soup possible.