Asparagus & Spinach Soup with Tarragon

So green it's practically LEED certified. groan

So: Oscar Night! While everyone in Hollywood transformed themselves into visions of perfection, we put on pajamas and stuffed our faces. Look at this stuffed face, though, and tell me I'm not as happy as I would have been if I'd just won Best Actress:

That, dears, is the power of friendship. And soup.

Another power of this particular soup: EXPLOSIVE DRAMA!

This first Oscars upset of 2013 probably had a lot more staining/laughter potential for us than for anyone at Hollywood & Highland. When the shock and giggles wore off, Kelly put in an award-winning performance with some OxiClean.

Logan was either stunned by the spilled soup or by the sheer unfunniness of Seth MacFarlane. You decide.

Over the past few weeks, I sporadically tried to come up with some sort of punny soup based on a nominated film. Nothing was really clicking for me, so I finally changed my strategy this morning as I grasped for something to fill out my shopping list. In a short game of word association, I came upon steak Oscar: steak with crab, asparagus and béarnaise. 

One of the chief differentiators between hollandaise and béarnaise is that béarnaise includes tarragon. From there I remembered this recipe I had wanted to try anyway, and that was enough of a logical connection for me. Plus, the soup is also basically the same color as this guy: 

When you think about it that way, this soup practically screams Oscar, right? It just took me a while to get there. 

This recipe hails from my most recent cookbook acquisition, Secrets of the Best Chefs by Adam Roberts (of Amateur Gourmet fame). I totally recommend it, even though this is only the second recipe I've tried from it. He spent time with 50 chefs, and in this book, which really does read like a novel, he imparts the lessons he learned. The title of the book makes it sound like it's going to be gimmicky, but it's really just entertaining and informational. One of the nice things about the book is that its goal is to make you trust yourself in the kitchen. I'm working on that.

I'll get to the soup, but first, let's pause to drool over this dessert Kelly made: 

It was somewhere between a cheesecake and a pie, and it was lick-your-plate good. She found the recipe hidden among totally insane recipe cards from the '80s. People used to use gelatin a lot more.

Okay, soup. Logan said his favorite thing about it was when it spilled everywhere. But I really, really liked it. Especially compared to other asparagus soups I've had or made. It's very simple, tastes nice and light, and tastes like the embodiment of spring--to me at least. If you like asparagus, I absolutely recommend this. Plus, it's purdy (see above).

Asparagus & Spinach Soup with Tarragon
Adapted very slightly from Adam Roberts' Secrets of the Best Chefs
Serves 4

GET THIS STUFF

2 bunches of asparagus, or about 1 1/4 pounds
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 c diced yellow onion
1 clove garlic, grated on a microplane
1 1/2 t dried tarragon
pinch of grated nutmeg
4 c baby spinach leaves

crème fraîche

DO THIS WITH IT

Cut off the tips of the asparagus and reserve, and cut off the wood ends and discard.
Bring a small pot of water to boil with a pinch of salt, and add asparagus tips. 
Cook for one minute, strain, and place asparagus in a bowl of ice water to cool.
Slice the rest of the asparagus into 1/2" chunks.

Melt butter in your soup pot over medium-low heat and add onion and a pinch of salt.
Cook gently for about 20 minutes--don't let them brown. 
Add garlic, tarragon, nutmeg, asparagus, and just enough water to cover everything.
Bring to a boil, turn heat down to a simmer, and cook for another 20 minutes or so, until asparagus is very soft. 
Add spinach and remove from heat.
Blend with an immersion blender until very smooth.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl.
Taste for seasoning, adding salt if necessary.

Slice asparagus tips in half lengthwise. Divide soup among four bowls and top each bowl with 1/4 of the asparagus and a few dollops of crème fraîche. 

Can also be served chilled, and it really was quite good as it cooled, so I'm totally not even a little bit against that.
  
Bonus Logan-majorly-enjoying-the-Oscars pic! You're welcome!