roasted asparagus and poblano soup

2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
2 sweet white onions
2 leeks (white and light green parts only)
2 poblano peppers
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup Arborio rice
4 cups stock (either chicken or vegetable)
2 limes, juiced
olive oil
salt and pepper 

If you have a gas grill, turn the burner on high and put the poblano peppers directly over the flame until they char. Put them in a mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let them sweat for ten or fifteen minutes. Take them out of the bowl and, using paper towels, wipe the outer skin and char off the peppers. Also clean out the seeds from the inside. If you want more heat in your soup, add more seeds. Try not to wash the peppers clean; this affects the flavor. (If you don’t have a gas burner, put them in the oven for about twenty minutes in a small pan covered with foil and then sweat them.)

Peel the onions and cut them in half. Put the flat side of the onion down and cut across the grain, so you get little half moon slices. Cut the leeks in half and due the same thing. Put about two tablespoons of olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat and add the onions, leeks, and garlic. Cover, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to caramelize – about fifteen minutes. Cut the asparagus into one to two inch segments and toss with olive oil and then spread out on a baking sheet. Cook in a 350 oven for ten to twelve minutes. Take out of the oven and add to the stock pot, along with poblanos, the Arborio rice and the stock. (The rice will make the soup creamy without adding cream.) Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about a half an hour.

Remove from the heat and add the lime juice. Puree using an immersion blender, or let the soup cool a bit and carefully puree in batches in either a food processor or a blender. When you serve the soup, Drizzle good olive oil over the top.

Peace, Milton