Spring Vegetables

Spring Vegetables

Spring has finally arrived. Well, actually we’re supposed to get some snow tomorrow, but spring is officially here.

Here’s a great soup from the new Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers. It features asparagus. What better sign of spring is there than lots of fresh asparagus in the market! This is an avgolemono, a Greek lemon-egg soup. The first time I ever ate it was years ago when my friend Emily learned how to make it. Orzo was new to all of us back then. We called the soup Greek Eggdrop Soup with “fat rice”. Orzo is a pasta, of course, but it sure looks like fat rice.

Asparagus Avgolemono

1 quart vegetable broth
¼ cup orzo
2 cups asparagus cut into 1 ½ inch lengths
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Bring broth to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until almost al dente, about 8 minutes.
Add the asparagus and dill and simmer until the asparagus is just tender, about 5 minutes.
While the asparagus cooks, in a bowl, whisk the eggs and lemon juice. When the asparagus is tender, whisk a ladleful of the hot broth into the egg-lemon mixture. Lower the heat and slowly pour the egg mixture into the soup in a thin stream, stirring briskly all the while. Continue to stir until the soup is thickened and heated through. Stir and keep the heat low to prevent curdling. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can substitute chopped spinach, broccoli, kale, or fresh peas for the asparagus.

Makes about three servings