Asparagus Potato Soup with Sausage

Lunchtime in the office doesn’t have to be boring, and it doesn’t mean you have to settle for leftovers. With a little creativity and a few tools you can whip up just about anything….

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup of diced onion
•  2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/4 pound of asparagus
• 1/4 pound of potatoes (I use fingerlings but any waxy potato ought to work)
• 1/2 cup of cooked chickpeas, drained
• 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock (plus more in case the soup needs to be thinned)
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 chicken sausage
• Juice from half a lemon
• Salt and pepper

Equipment used:

• Microwave with Lekue Steam Case
• Toaster Oven with baking sheet
• Vitamix (or immersion blender)

Directions:

• Add the onion to the Steam Case, without the tray, and drizzle with olive oil. Close up the Steam Case and give it a good shake to coat the onions. Set your microwave to 800 watts and cook for 2 and half minutes.
• Slice the sausage lengthwise and broil it in the toaster oven, skin side up, until warmed through and skin is crisp.
• Remove the Steam Case from the microwave and pour the now suateed onions into the carafe of your Vitamix (or in to a work bowl if using an immersion blender). Peel and smash two cloves of garlic and place at the bottom of the Lekue Steam Case. Place the tray over the top of the garlic and then fill with about 1/2 cup of water. Slice up your potato into smaller pieces and add them to the Steam Case. Close up and throw it in the microwave at 1000 watts for 6 minutes.
• In the meantime, trim your asparagus into 1″ pieces. When the potatoes are done, carefully remove the steam case (contents will be hot) and add the asparagus on top of the potatoes. Return to microwave and cook an additional 4 minutes at 1000 watts. When done, carefully remove the Steam Case and, leaving the lid closed, pour the excess water out into the sink by holding the handles and turning in on its side. The water coming out will be boiling hot! Be very careful.
• Open the Steam Case and remove 2 or 3 asparagus tops and set aside. Combine the rest of the contents of the Steam Case, including the garlic, to the onions in the Vitamix carafe or work bowl. Add the chickpeas, stock, butter, salt and pepper and blend, on high, until smooth and steam starts to escape out the lid (Of course you could use your Vitamix’s Soup Function if using a preprogrammed model.) Add more stock if the finished product is thicker than you like.
• Remove the sausage from the toaster oven and cut each half into thin slices. Stir the slices into the finished soup. To plate pour the finished soup into a bowl, dollop with a little sour cream and the reserved asparagus tops. Drizzle the bowl with a little lemon juice and hit it with a touch of fresh ground pepper.

Start to finish: less than 20 minutes.

Serves: 1-2