Posted on 01/05/2016 in Spring
Asparagus Soup
This is a simple but wonderful soup, which captures the vibrant colour and delicate taste of asparagus. I buy loose asparagus for this recipe which comes in all shapes and sizes and is usually cheaper than the bundles. Don’t add the asparagus until the last minutes or you will lose the lovely colour.
Serves 4 – 6
55g butter
2 leeks or banana shallots roughly chopped
1 medium potato peeled and chopped
I stick of celery chopped
900ml water
600g Asparagus finely chopped (to approx 1 cm lengths)
Approx 200 ml double cream
1 dessert spoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan; add the chopped onion, celery and potato. Stir frequently and cook for a good five minutes.
Add the water, lightly season and bring to a rolling boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
After this time add the asparagus pieces, bring back to the boil then continue boiling for another 5 minutes. By this time the asparagus should be just cooked and will have retained its lovely intense green colour.
Remove from heat and blitz thoroughly with a hand blender or in a food processor. Return to the saucepan and re-heat, adding half the cream, taste and add more seasoning and cream if required and finish with a dessert spoon of lemon juice.
This soup is just as good served hot or cold.
