Step Into Spring with Parties That Cook’s Asparagus Soup with Lemon Creme Fraiche Recipe

The weather may seem a bit confused these days, but warmer Spring weather is on it’s way! For those cold days that need to get with the program, a light soup really hits the spot. Try this delicious Parties That Cook recipe for Asparagus Soup with Lemon Creme Fraiche! The  hint of lemon in the creme fraiche adds a refreshing twist to the seasonal ingredients!

Asparagus Soup with Lemon Crème Fraiche
This recipe can also be found in our Soups, Salads and Pasta Recipe Section!

Ingredients

Asparagus Soup:
3 lbs. asparagus, tough ends removed and discarded
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, chopped into medium dice
2 cloves garlic, sliced
6 cups vegetable stock, hot
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Asparagus Tips:
2 Tablespoons butter, unsalted
All reserved asparagus tips
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Lemon Crème Fraîche:
2 Tablespoons butter, unsalted
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1 lemon, zested then juiced
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Methods/Steps
Cutting asparagus: Remove tough ends from asparagus. After the tough ends have been removed, slice off the tips of the asparagus into thin slivers. Set tips aside for soup garnish. Cut remaining stalks into 1/2-inch long pieces.

Make soup: In a soup pot over medium heat, melt butter.  Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add all of the asparagus, except the tips, and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the hot stock, bring to a boil over high heat, and cook the asparagus until tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Puree Soup: Working in batches, puree the soup by filling a blender to no more than 2/3 full.  Puree the soup until very smooth and light, 2 to 3 minutes per batch on high speed.  (If the soup is still hot, it could spit from the blender; take care by removing the plastic plug on the lid and placing a towel over the hole for steam to escape.)  Strain soup through a strainer into another soup pot. Add the 2 Tablespoons lemon juice and season with the 1 Tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add asparagus tips to pureed soup. Keep soup hot until ready to serve.

Flavor Crème Fraîche: In a bowl, mix together crème fraîche with preserved lemons and salt and pepper. Add water, if necessary, to make the consistency of heavy cream.

To serve: Ladle the soup into bowls. Put a dollop of crème fraîche in the middle of the bowl and serve immediately.

Serves/Makes

Serves 12

Go Banh Mi Crazy with this Parties That Cook Vietnamese Sandwich Recipe

Lucky you! April Fool’s Day isn’t until tomorrow, so we will not prank you. After all, we wouldn’t want to be one of those awkwardly early pranksters… Yeah.

This completely serious blog post was inspired by MEE. Bun Mee, that is. Opening Friday in San Francisco, this Vietnamese street food restaurant is stirring up a lot of buzz from popular sources like Thrillist and Daily Candy. With nine banh mi variations in the works, what’s not to be excited about? In case you want to try making your own, Parties That Cook has your recipe for delicious Banh Mi Sandwiches, complete with tangy Pickled Vegetables and the spicy kick of Hot Chili Mayo!

Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi Sandwiches with Cilantro and Mint
This recipe can also be found in our Appetizer Recipe Library.

Ingredients
Pickled Vegetables:
2 cups Carrots (about 1 ½ large carrots), peeled and coarsely grated
2 cups Daikon (Japanese white radish – about half a large radish), peeled and coarsely grated
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Hot Chili Mayo:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 whole green onions, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Sriracha
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 pounds ground pork
½ cup finely chopped fresh basil
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 green onions, finely chopped
2 Tablespoon fish sauce
2 Tablespoon Sriracha
2 Tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon canola oil

Sandwich Assembly:
2 baguettes
Red jalapeño slices for garnish
1 bunch fresh cilantro sprigs
1 bunch mint
Toothpicks

Methods/Steps
Prepare Vegetables:
Place the carrots, daikon, rice vinegar, sugar and salt into a small bowl and let sit for ½ hour up to 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

Make Mayo: Stir mayo, green onions, Sriracha and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Make Meatballs: Preheat oven to 300°F. In a large bowl, gently mix pork, basil, garlic, green onions, fish sauce, Sriracha, sugar, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Using moistened hands or a small scoop, roll meat mixture into 1 ½-inch meatballs.  Arrange on baking sheet.

Cook Meatballs: Heat sesame oil and canola oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs. Sear meatballs until brown all over. Lower the heat if browning too quickly, about 5 minutes. Transfer meatballs to another sheet pan. Repeat with remaining meatballs. Then place into oven to finish cooking for 7-8 minutes, until cooked through.

Assemble Sandwiches: Cut each baguette into 8 mini baguettes. Then cut each mini baguette 2/3rd the way through (leaving one side attached). Pull out enough bread from each mini baguette to leave 1/4-inch-thick shell. Spread hot chili mayo over each bread shell. Cut a meatball in half and place in a mini baguette.  In the middle of the meatball, place cilantro and mint, pickled carrot and Daikon, and finish with a sprig of cilantro. Arrange red jalapeños on top. Secure with a toothpick.

Serve: Garnish tray by making sure the cilantro and vegetables are poking out showing off all of the beautiful colors.

Serves/Makes
Makes 24 Mini Sandwiches

Recipe adapted by Parties That Cook®

For other Vietnamese food options, Thrillist has rolled out a Bay Area Banh Mi Map.  You should also check out Kitchen Side Car and Little Knock – the forces behind tonight’s Rice Paper Scissors, a Saigon-style pop-up open from 6pm until they’re sold out! Follow @kitchensidecar and @littleknock for the exact location.