Asparagus, a member of the Lily family, is the most regal of vegetables. Tall and slender with its crowned head held aloft, the asparagus almost demands that we dress for dinner. We acknowledge asparagus' superiority to other vegetables and treat it like visiting royalty in the season of its freshness.
Cause it is I chose asparagus soup as my blog theme. Furthermore asparagus soup is highly nutritious soup. Asparagus is low in calories and is very low in sodium. It is also a good source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium. The amino acid asparagine gets its name from asparagus, the asparagus plant being rich in this compound.
Senin, 25 Oktober 2010
The History of Asparagus
We look east and west to find the origins of asparagus, but are not able to state its origins with certainty. Asparagus appears late in the history of Chinese foods, but today Taiwan has made a major industry of exporting asparagus. Asparagus grows best in sandy soil in cooler climates, yet we hear of it in the history books written by the ancient Romans. It is depicted in ancient Egyptian writing and has grown in Syria and Spain since ancient times.
To the Greeks, asparagus was a wild plant. It was the Roman writer Cato who first detailed instructions for raising asparagus - the first known cultivated asparagus that we find in written history.
Pliny the Elder, one of our major sources for food history, includes asparagus in his Materia Medica.
Though he mostly refers to wild asparagus, he mentions a large asparagus grown in Ravenna. Juvenal served "some wild asparagus, gathered by the bailiff's wife," another reference to wild asparagus. Apicius gave recipes but they may or may not have been for cultivated asparagus. The Emperor Augustus is supposed to have been very fond of it and to have originated a saying, Velocius quam asparagi coquantur - Quicker than you can cook asparagus. Bartolomeo Sacchi, better known as Platina, who was a papal librarian, not a cook, mentions asparagus in his work, “On Right Pleasure and Good Health” in about 1475. This is a hidden history.
King Louis XVI of France, who did indeed dress in silken splendor when he dined, was so in love with asparagus that his gardeners were instructed to grow it in hothouses for his year round pleasure. Globalization has made us almost as lucky as kings without the risk of being beheaded, and today we import asparagus from Mexico or Peru in the winter.
It was in the nineteenth century when dinners became great shows of wealth that asparagus took its place in history as the pampered princess (we do think of this as feminine) of vegetables. Perhaps it was the cost of asparagus that elevated it to such heights and even Brillat- Savarin stated, "They are certainly very fine, but at such a price no one but the King or some prince will be able to eat them."
Wild asparagus is still found and used today, growing in very thin stalks in the hills of Provence. These fine stalks are often chopped and used in omelets, just as we might peel and chop the larger commercial stalks of asparagus.
To the Greeks, asparagus was a wild plant. It was the Roman writer Cato who first detailed instructions for raising asparagus - the first known cultivated asparagus that we find in written history.
Pliny the Elder, one of our major sources for food history, includes asparagus in his Materia Medica.
Though he mostly refers to wild asparagus, he mentions a large asparagus grown in Ravenna. Juvenal served "some wild asparagus, gathered by the bailiff's wife," another reference to wild asparagus. Apicius gave recipes but they may or may not have been for cultivated asparagus. The Emperor Augustus is supposed to have been very fond of it and to have originated a saying, Velocius quam asparagi coquantur - Quicker than you can cook asparagus. Bartolomeo Sacchi, better known as Platina, who was a papal librarian, not a cook, mentions asparagus in his work, “On Right Pleasure and Good Health” in about 1475. This is a hidden history.
King Louis XVI of France, who did indeed dress in silken splendor when he dined, was so in love with asparagus that his gardeners were instructed to grow it in hothouses for his year round pleasure. Globalization has made us almost as lucky as kings without the risk of being beheaded, and today we import asparagus from Mexico or Peru in the winter.
It was in the nineteenth century when dinners became great shows of wealth that asparagus took its place in history as the pampered princess (we do think of this as feminine) of vegetables. Perhaps it was the cost of asparagus that elevated it to such heights and even Brillat- Savarin stated, "They are certainly very fine, but at such a price no one but the King or some prince will be able to eat them."
Wild asparagus is still found and used today, growing in very thin stalks in the hills of Provence. These fine stalks are often chopped and used in omelets, just as we might peel and chop the larger commercial stalks of asparagus.
How to Make Asparagus Soup
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
Cut off asparagus heads with about 1/2 inch of stalk. Cook in 3 pints salted water for two minutes.
Remove with slotted spoon, and set aside, reserving liquid.
Cut remaining stalks into inch long pieces. Boil in reserved water until tender. Remove, still reserving liquid. Puree, using a food mill or food processor.
Melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook until golden brown. Whisk in 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup cream, mix well and add around 2 pints reserved asparagus water along with asparagus puree. Put cooked asparagus heads into soup and bring to low boil.
In a small bowl mix sour cream, 2 teaspoons corn starch, egg yolk, chopped parsley with 5 tablespoons cold water until smooth.
Remove soup from heat and let sit for 4 - 5 minutes. Stir cream mixture to soup and stir to combine well. Return to heat and simmer over low heat. Do not boil.
Season with ground white pepper and salt.
Serves: 4 - 6
- 1 pound fresh asparagus
- 3 pints cold water
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup cold chicken broth
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 teaspoons corn starch (or potato starch)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 5-6 tablespoons cold water
- salt and ground white pepper to taste
METHOD
Cut off asparagus heads with about 1/2 inch of stalk. Cook in 3 pints salted water for two minutes.
Remove with slotted spoon, and set aside, reserving liquid.
Cut remaining stalks into inch long pieces. Boil in reserved water until tender. Remove, still reserving liquid. Puree, using a food mill or food processor.
Melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook until golden brown. Whisk in 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup cream, mix well and add around 2 pints reserved asparagus water along with asparagus puree. Put cooked asparagus heads into soup and bring to low boil.
In a small bowl mix sour cream, 2 teaspoons corn starch, egg yolk, chopped parsley with 5 tablespoons cold water until smooth.
Remove soup from heat and let sit for 4 - 5 minutes. Stir cream mixture to soup and stir to combine well. Return to heat and simmer over low heat. Do not boil.
Season with ground white pepper and salt.
Serves: 4 - 6
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