Serves 4
Cream of Asparagus soup is a great way to use Asparagus. This soup is lovely in early spring, when asparagus is in season, and also makes a lovely cold soup on a warm summers’ day.
Ingredients:
- 2 bundles of asparagus, trimmed
- 1 leek, washed and trimmed
- 50g Butter
- 400ml vegetable (or chicken stock for a non vegetarian soup)
- 1 tbsp double cream
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 medium eggs, poached
Preparation:
- Cut the asparagus into 3cm lengths. Keep the tips and set aside.
- Half the leek lengthwise and cut into 1 cm pieces.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the leek and asparagus. Sauté for 3 minutes, until the vegetables are starting to soften.
- Add the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the asparagus is soft and cooked through.
- Blend the soup in a food processor until smooth. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper and return to the pan. Add the double cream and warm through.
- Meanwhile, toss the asparagus tips in the olive oil, and heat a griddle pan. Griddle the asparagus for 2 minutes. Serve the soup in warmed soup bowls if eating warm, or leave to cool if wanting to serve cold. Top each bowl with a lightly poached egg and some asparagus tips.
Hot Tips
When poaching the eggs, put them into boiling salted water with a dash of vinegar as this helps to keep the egg together. The eggs can be poached in advanced and placed into a bowl of cold water then when the eggs are required they can be dropped back into boiling water.
