It's truly and finally spring here in the Northeast and The Soup Lady is taking full advantage of the lovely sunny days - potting up the petunias and line-drying the towels outdoors. There is no greater pleasant diversion than to attempt to extract the freshness right out of line-dried linens by means of relentless sniffing and so who has time to cook? Here is a light and spring-like recipe that takes only 20 minutes to put together. Make it on a day that you have spent your productive hours goofing around sniffing the tea towels, yet still need to make the proper impression on invited guests or casual passers-by.
Asparagus and Escarole Soup
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a stock pot. Add 1 lb. of thin asparagus sliced into 1/2" pieces and saute for 10 minutes over medium heat. Add 6 cups of chicken broth and bring to a slow boil. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Add 4 cups of loosley packed chopped escarole leaves. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve.
What could be easier? The Soup Lady is always tempted to throw in some ancini de pepe whenever she sees escarole leaves in a stockpot, but really, the flavors of the asparagus and the escarole compliment each other so nicely that you don't need anything else.
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