How to Cook Spargel Soup
Serves: 4-6
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 50 mins
Ingredients needed to make Spargel Soup:
- 1lb 2 oz white asparagus or spargel
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley, chopped
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 oz unsalted butter
- 4 ½ tbsp crème fraiche
- 1 tbsp dry fino sherry
- 1 ¼ pints chicken stock
- Sea salt and ground white pepper to taste
Cooking instructions for Spargel Soup:
- Peel off the outer skin off each asparagus and slice off its tops; reserve them until necessary.
- Chop each stalk into 1 cm chunks and set them aside in a bowl;
- Add a knob of butter in a saucepan and heat over moderate heat until it melts.
- Throw in the chopped shallot and sauté for about 5 minutes or until they soften yet doesn’t change its colour yet.
- Stir in the chopped asparagus into the shallots and sauté further for 5 more minutes while stirring often.
- Stir in the stock and bring it to a simmer.
- Continue to cook likewise for half an hour or until the asparagus softens and tip the mixture into a blender.
- Pulse them into a smooth puree and return it back into the pan.
- Cook the soup until it starts simmering again and toss the reserved asparagus tips into the simmering soup.
- Gently simmer it for about 5 minutes or until the tips are cooked properly.
- Place the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk them thoroughly along with a splash of sherry and crème fraiche until well combined.
- Beat this blend into the soup and continue to cook for 2 more minutes or until it thickens and is heated through; stir it gently all this time to prevent the formation of lumps but make a point to keep the asparagus tips intact.
- Ladle the soup into serving soup bowls and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top of each serving.
- Serve hot alongside a slice of crusty bread
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
