ASPARAGUS SOUP

Asparagus soup

If you love making home soups, but get a bit disappointed with the flavour sometimes – then you are going to love this one. I never intended to use this site for recipes but this soup is so full of flavour I just had to publish it.

This recipe for asparagus soup is about as simple as it can get, but it isn't just a gourmet starter, try it cold straight out the fridge on hot days too. All you need to do is add a touch of lemon juice - Serves eight.

Asparagus spears

INGREDIENTS

800 g asparagus with the woody ends removed
50g of salted butter
2 medium onions
2 sticks of celery
2 leeks
1 tablespoon of plain flour
2 litres of chicken or vegetable stock
150ml of double cream or crème fraiche
1 tablespoon of lemon juice – for serving cold soup only
sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a sprig of thyme

Remove the tips from the tops of the asparagus and put these to one side for later. Next, roughly chop the asparagus stalks. Heat up a saucepan, adding the butter. Chop the onions, celery and leeks then add to saucepan – gently fry for around 10 minutes until they are soft and sweet. Keep the temperature in the pan low to prevent the onion from colouring.

Sprinkle the tablespoon of flour over the mix and then stir it in so that it can soak up the juices.

Now add the chopped asparagus stalks and stock and simmer for a further 20 minutes with a lid on the sauce pan. Remove from the heat and puree the mix until it is silky smooth using either a hand-held blender or in a liquidizer.

Season the soup bit by bit - this is important - with salt and pepper until it tastes just right.

Finally, stir in the double cream or creme fraiche and the reserved asparagus tips. Re-heat gently for 3-4 minutes until the tips have softened and serve very hot in warm soup bowls garnishing with the sprig of thyme.

If you are serving this dish cold then thoroughly mix the tablespoon of lemon juice into the soup. Cool and chill thoroughly before serving in chilled bowls.

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