I had a version of this soup at a local restaurant here in Newark, Delaware where Dave and I live. And I was hooked. It was asparagus soup with truffle oil. Since truffles are loosely in the mushroom family, I thought it would be fun to make a different version as a cream of asparagus and mushroom soup. There is some cream in the soup, but the main liquid is chicken stock. You can buy that in a store or easily make stock at home. I use my crock pot. Take a left-over chicken carcass and place it in a crock pot. Fill with water and cover. Turn to low heat setting and let it cook overnight. Remove bones with slotted spoon and you have delicious chicken stock the next day!
In a large skillet, place bacon and cook over medium high heat until evenly browned both sides. Place bacon on a plate with paper towel and set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings. Add butter to the pan and melt over medium heat. Sauté celery and onions for a few minutes until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and stir for a couple minutes.
Pour celery, onion mixture into a Dutch oven pot. Leave the skillet to the side to use later. Add 5 cups of chicken broth (reserving the other cup if the soup needs thinning later). Bring to a boil. Add potato and the asparagus (not the tips). Season with salt and pepper. Reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Cool slightly and blend soup either in your blender or using an immersion blender in the pot. If using the blender, be sure to do in batches filling only half full. Use hot pad to hold lid in place as soup may be still hot. Pour batches back into the Dutch oven. Cook and stir the mushrooms and asparagus tips in the bacon and butter skillet for 5-8 minutes until tender.
Season with salt and pepper. Add the cream. Cook until mixture is warm. Pour mushroom and asparagus tip mixture into the Dutch oven pot with pureed soup. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with crumbled bacon. This sounds like a lot of ingredients and difficult steps, but it really isn’t. And it makes the most amazing and delicious soup. I serve it with warm rolls! Serves 8.