I love how rich the green of this soup is. If your guest is adamant about eating soup with meat, brown some bacon and chop to smaller pieces. Add the bacon at the same time you garnish the soup with the asparagus tips.

Ingredients:
vegetable stock
1 bunch of asparagus, chopped, reserving the tips
1 leek, white parts only, chopped
1 medium red onion, roughly chopped
half a bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
half a stick of butter
grated lemon peel
salt, pepper

1. Melt butter in a large soup pot. Sauté garlic and onions. Add leeks and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the asparagus stems, onion and parsley with salt and pepper. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Then simmer until asparagus is tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Purée mixture using a blender, in batches if necessary. Return soup to pot and thin with more stock if desired.
3. In a separate pot, boil some water and cook asparagus tips for about 2 minutes with some salt. Use as garnish for soup.

Related post/s:
Vegetable stock

Vegetable stock? Even the biggest carnivore would want a simple soup without meat.

Ingredients:
leeks, greens only, roughly chopped
carrot, peeled and chopped
celery stalk, chopped
parsley branches
bay leaf
salt and olive oil

1. Sauté leeks in a stock pot with hot olive oil. Add and lightly brown the rest of the ingredients. Add enough water and bring to a boil.
2. Simmer under low fire for a couple of hours until stock is reduced to about half. Strain into containers. Let cool before freezing to store for future use.

Related post/s:
Asparagus Soup