Asparagus Soup with Cumin -- a spring #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

 

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  This recipe appeared in To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop mystery, published last August. But since fresh asparagus is a spring vegetable scarce in the height of summer, I decided to hold off sharing it until the precious spears began to poke up in gardens and groceries. 

The area where my parents built the house I grew up in had been a small farm, and our lot was part of the asparagus field. Even after construction and yards, the stuff grew, and my mother corralled a patch of it in the backyard. No surprise that it’s one of my favorite vegetables, which we often called Sparrow Grass. (Mr. Right calls it Sparrow Girls.) 

The soup is creamy and lovely and tastes like spring. I hope you enjoy it as much as we – and Pepper – do. 

To Err is Cumin is out in audio as well as paperback and ebook. Isn't this a fun cover? I am so in love with that little dog! Watch for his next appearance in Lavender Lies Bleeding, out this summer, where Arf's secret history will be revealed! 

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Creamy Asparagus Soup with Cumin 

As sure a sign of spring as tulips, asparagus is one of Pepper’s favorite veggies—and a hit at every produce and farm stall in the Market! A few asparagus tips make a terrific garnish. Buy cumin seeds toasted or raw. 

2 pounds green asparagus, rinsed, woody ends snapped off

3 tablespoons butter

1 large white onion, chopped

1-2 gloves garlic, minced

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

5 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste

1 teaspoon ground coriander, or more to taste

1/2 cup sour cream, crème fraîche, or heavy cream, plus more for garnish

1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

toasted cumin seeds, for garnish

Cut 1-1/2 inch off the tips of 12 asparagus stalks and set aside for garnish. If the stalks are thick, slice them in half. Cut into 1 inch pieces.

Melt the butter in a stock pot over medium low heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until just soft, about 5 minutes. 

Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring, 5 minutes. When the asparagus is tender-crisp and still bright green, add the broth, cumin, and coriander, and simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a cup or two of salted water to a boil and blanch the asparagus tips until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and set aside. If your cumin seeds are raw, toast lightly in a saute pan on the stove top, about 3-5 minutes. 

When the asparagus in the soup mixture is tender, taste and adjust spices. Purée with an immersion blender or in batches in a standard blender until smooth. Reheat if necessary. Stir in sour cream, transferring to a bowl (use caution when blending hot liquids), and return to pan. Stir in sour cream, crème fraîche, or heavy cream. Adjust seasonings and add lemon juice. 

Serve, garnished with asparagus tips, additional sour cream, and toasted cumin seeds. 

Serves 4. 

Shown with slices of Rosemary Garlic Focaccia. Click here for the recipe. 

What's your favorite spring vegetable and how do you like to prepare it? 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

TO ERR IS CUMIN:A Spice Shop Mystery (Seventh St. Books, out now in paper, ebook, and audio)

From the cover: One person’s treasure is another’s trash. . .

Pepper Reece, owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, wants nothing more than to live a quiet life for a change, running her shop and working with customers eager to spice up their cooking. But when she finds an envelope stuffed with cash in a ratty old wingback left on the curb, she sets out to track down the owner.

Pepper soon concludes that the chair and its stash may belong to young Talia Cook, new in town and nowhere to be seen. Boz Bosworth, an unemployed chef Pepper’s tangled with in the past, shows up looking for the young woman, but Pepper refuses to help him search. When Boz is found floating in the Ship Canal, only a few blocks from Talia’s apartment, free furniture no longer seems like such a bargain.

On the hunt for Talia, Pepper discovers a web of connections threatening to ensnare her best customer. The more she probes, the harder it gets to tell who’s part of an unsavory scheme of corruption—and who might be the next victim.

Between her quest for an elusive herb, helping her parents remodel their new house, and setting up the Spice Shop’s first cooking class, Pepper’s got a full plate. Dogged by a sense of obligation to find the rightful owner of the hidden treasure, she keeps on showing up and asking questions.

One mistake, and she could find herself cashing out. . .

Available at Amazon  * Barnes & Noble  * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * And your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.