Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Creme Serving Size - 6 Prepared By - Frederic Recipe Rating
			1 pound asparagus spears 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 onion, chopped 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 3 cups Vegetable Stock Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon or large regular lemon 1 cup creme fraiche Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper LEMON CREAM: 1/2 cup creme fraiche Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon or large regular lemon Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper Coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts Hazelnut oil
			Remove the tough ends of the asparagus spears by bending each spear near its base until the end snaps off naturally. Cut off about 3 inches from the tips of 12 stalks to use for garnish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the asparagus spears to the boiling water and cook until bright green and nearly tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Scoop out the spears with a slotted spoon and plunge into the ice water to cool quickly. Return the water to a boil, add the reserved asparagus tips and cook until bright green and nearly tender, about 1 minute. Scoop the tips out with a slotted spoon and cool in the ice water as well. When the asparagus is cold, drain well and place in a single layer on paper towels to dry. Set aside the asparagus tips and cut the spears into l-inch pieces. Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted and foamy white. Add the onion, thyme, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the asparagus pieces, then add the vegetable stock and lemon juice. Bring the stock just to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium-low, stir in the creme fraiche, and simmer until the asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the asparagus mixture through a sieve into a bowl, returning the liquid to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil to reduce by one-third. Meanwhile, puree the asparagus mixture in a blender or food processor until very smooth. If the puree is quite thick, add a couple tablespoons of water to lighten it. Pass the puree through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a rubber spatula to extract as much puree from the fibrous bits as you can. Stir the asparagus puree into the reduced stock mixture. Taste the soup for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary; keep warm over low heat. Cut the reserved asparagus tips lengthwise in half (unless the tips are already quite thin). For the lemon cream, whip the creme fraiche with the lemon juice in a bowl until medium peaks form. Season to taste with salt and pepper, whisking to blend fully. To serve, ladle the asparagus soup into warm shallow soup bowls. Form the lemon cream into 4 large quenelles and set them in the center of the soup. Lean the reserved asparagus tips up against the lemon cream and scatter the hazelnuts over the cream. Drizzle the top of each soup with hazelnut oil.