Cream of Asparagus Soup
Made from fresh seasonal asparagus, not from a packet — and the whole bunch gets used.
The woody ends boil in the stock for ten minutes and are then strained out. They are too tough to eat, but they are full of flavour, and it costs nothing extra.
The tips are set aside and fried briefly at the end, so they keep their bite. The potato binds the soup, so very little cream is needed.
The same trick with the trimmings is in the creamy asparagus risotto. And if the bunch is going in the oven, the asparagus quiche.
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of green asparagus (about 500 g)
- 1 medium potato, diced
- 1 leek (or 1 onion), chopped
- 30 g butter
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 100 ml pouring cream
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
- 1
Cut off the asparagus tips and set them aside. Snap the woody part off the stalks and boil those trimmings for 10 minutes in the stock; then strain and discard the trimmings.
- 2
Soften the leek in the butter over gentle heat until tender, without letting it brown.
- 3
Add the diced potato and the chopped asparagus stalks, and stir for 2 minutes.
- 4
Pour in the strained stock and cook for 20 minutes, until the potato has fallen apart.
- 5
Blend until completely smooth. Return to the pot, add the cream, heat without boiling and adjust the salt and pepper.
- 6
Fry the reserved tips for 2 minutes in the tablespoon of olive oil with a pinch of salt.
- 7
Serve the soup with the tips on top and freshly ground pepper. With a soft-boiled egg on top it goes from a starter to a whole supper.