Cream of asparagus soup

I had some extra asparagus, so I made some cream of asparagus soup, based on my recipe corn chowder and clam chowder . It was good, though not as flavorful as the clam. It might need a little something (to be determined) to kick it up a little.

Serves 2, multiply as necessary.

1 tbsp. butter 1 tbsp. olive oil 1/2 onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 small carrot, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 7.0 oz. asparagus 1/8 c. flour 12 oz. water 1 tbsp. More Than Gourmet roasted chicken stock concentrate 4 oz. heavy cream salt freshly ground white pepper Tabasco or other hot sauce (optional)

Here are the vegetables:

Heat the oil and butter in the soup pan. Since I was making such a small batch of soup I used a sauce pan. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes over medium-low heat, making sure they don't burn.

Add the celery, carrot and garlic and cook for a few more minutes.

Add the flour. If there's dry flour, add a little more olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat to make the roux.

Add the 12 oz. of chicken stock or the dissolved More than Gourmet concentrate. Increase the heat and bring to a boil.

Add the asparagus. Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to a a low boil. Cook for 5 minutes for young asparagus like these, or longer for larger asparagus.

Puree the soup. I used the food processor, and this amount of soup is exactly at the limit for how much it will hold. You may want to do it in batches. Or you could use a blender.

Return to the soup pot.

Add the heavy cream and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt, freshly ground white pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce (if desired)