We are still a few weeks away from local asparagus, but I'm collecting recipes and getting ready! I love to use an immersion blender for soups like that, so I can puree them right in the pot.

Elise,
I save up all the woody ends of asparagus in the freezer during asparagus season and then when it's nearly over, use them to make an initial stock for asparagus soup. I discard them after making the stock and then proceed as you do, albeit using a different recipe.

It sounds like such a great recipe. I bet this is as good as the asparagus soup I recently had at a very expensive restaurant!

I have a very faithful 80 year old reader and after he noticed I'm eating so much asparagus lately, he sent me the same tip Kevin gave in his comment, saving the woody ends and making asparagus "stock," . I thought that was so sweet.

This looks absolutely delicious. Just wondering, is there anything nonalcoholic I can substitute for the vermouth?

Fabulous!!! I roasted the aparagus before adding to the both. Delicious. This recipe is quick and easy

I just made some and tried it, although I forgot the thyme and I didn't have vermouth, and I used regular cream instead of heavy. Still quite yummy :o). Yay asparagus season.

I skipped the vermouth and used regular cream instead of heavy cream. It was delicious. This is very easy to make, glad I found the recipe.

Can't wait to start my soup. I have three different kinds of asparagus, one being very large and purple. My husband doesn't like the big ones so I cut them thin and add to my salad every night.

I tried this recipe last year and the whole family loved it. This year I am working at a small garden center that sells produce with an emphasis on in-season and locally grown when we can. Even though CT does not have a lot of local asparagus, I put up the recipe to entice people to buy some. The RAVES have been huge! Don't worry Elise, you and "Gourmet" got full credit. Thank you for such a great site that gives people ideas to eat in-season and eat locally.

This is one of my favorite soups. I love this recipe.

This is my first time commenting here, although I've run across this site a few times in the past. Very delicious soup! I cut it in half since I only had one bunch of asparagus (which, by the way, were clearly marked "Product of Peru", even though it's spring - haha!). The only changes I made were to leave out the vermouth, since I had none, and to toss in a few chopped button mushrooms that needed to be used with the onion. I would recommend using an immersion blender--handy in keeping the dishes to a minimum. :) Thanks for a great recipe, I trusted this site with my first time making asparagus soup and was not disappointed.

This is a great recipe, I loved it!
I cooked it for my cooking class one time but I also added a few chopped walnuts which I think made it taste a little different and good.

This is a lovely soup and tastes much more complex than it is. We are great soup eaters, and this ranks right up there. I often freeze cream soups with fine results. I second the motion of DO NOT TRY TO CAN THIS - it would be courting food poisoning.

In order to make a vegan version of this soup, I replaced the heavy cream with about 2 Tbsp Tofutti cream cheese and 1/3 cup Tofutti sour cream. I also omitted the vermouth because we don't keep that on hand. It was delicious, the best part of our Thanksgiving meal!

I saw this recipe and knew I just HAD to try it out, being a huge fan of asparagus and soup (a win-win combo for me). Following the advice of some commenters, I threw in the ends of the asparagus (the "woody" parts) into a pot of chicken stock and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I chopped up the rest of my veggies and softened the onions then asparagus as per the instructions (make sure to discard the asparagus ends from the stock before adding it to the veggies). I tossed in a bay leaf with all of that while it simmered for 15 min. Removed the leaf before pureeing it all, portioned off about half for freezing (do this before adding the cream) then put the rest back in the pot. I used half&half instead of heavy cream and didn't use the vermouth at all. It was delicious and better than I imagined--make this soup even more delicious by topping it with some shredded cheese and having some crunchy bread on the side. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

An impulse purchase of a 2.5 kg (5½ lbs) bag of mixed Asparagus from our local Suffolk grower has prompted me , an inexperience cook , to ask about making my favourite soup as per your delicious sounding recipe and then freezing it . Should I leave out the cream ( or any other ingredient )and add it/them when the defrozen soup is heated up for eating later ?

Great question. I honestly don't know as I rarely, if ever, freeze soups. ~Elise

This soup was a disappointment to me, which is a first! Usually your recipes are always home runs. In my opinion, there's way too much broth in the recipe. It makes for a very thin soup with weak asparagus flavor. If I were to make it again, I would cut the broth by half.

When HEAVY CREAM is mentioned, does that mean DOUBLE CREAM?

Good question. I'm guessing yes, but I don't really know. Heavy cream is what we have here in the states. I suggest doing an internet search for what the difference might be. ~Elise