Recipes · Soups & stews
Cream of White Asparagus Soup
AI-written · not yet kitchen-tested
The flavor lives in the peels: first a stock is boiled from the peels and ends, and it later carries the soup. The peels simmer for about 20 minutes, since longer makes the stock bitter. The tips only go into the stock briefly so they stay crisp-tender.
This recipe was written with AI assistance and has not yet been kitchen-tested. Check quantities and times as you cook, and follow safe core temperatures for meat, poultry, fish and eggs.
Ingredients
- 750 g (1.7 lb) white asparagus thick spears, peeled; keep the peels and ends
- 1 l (4 1/4 cup) water for the stock
- 1 tsp salt for the stock
- 1 tsp sugar for the stock
- 35 g (1.2 oz) butter 10 g (2 tsp) for the stock, 25 g for the roux
- 25 g (0.9 oz) all-purpose flour plain white
- 150 ml (5.1 fl oz) heavy cream
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch nutmeg freshly grated
- salt to taste, for seasoning
- white pepper to taste
Method
- Wash the asparagus, peel it thickly in the lower third and more thinly toward the tip, and cut off about 3/4 inch (2 cm) from the ends. Cut off the tips, the top 1 1/2 inches (4 cm), and set them aside. Cut the spears into 3/4-inch (2 cm) pieces.
- Put the peels and ends in a 3-quart (3-liter) pot with 1 liter (about 1 quart) of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, the sugar and 10 g of the butter. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Pour through a strainer and press the peels lightly. About 850 ml (3 1/2 cups) of stock remain.
- Pour the stock back into the pot and bring it to a boil. Cook the asparagus pieces in it for 12 minutes until tender, adding the tips for the last 3 minutes. Lift the tips out with a slotted spoon and set them aside, then do the same with the pieces.
- In a second pot, melt the remaining 25 g of butter over medium heat, add the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring; it must not turn brown. Whisk in the hot stock in three batches so no lumps form and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Return the asparagus pieces to the pot and blend the soup smooth with an immersion blender. In a countertop blender, work in small batches, fill it no more than halfway and leave the lid opening uncovered with a towel over it. Hot soup expands and can blow off a lid that is sealed tight.
- Stir in the cream, lemon juice and nutmeg, season with salt and white pepper and warm the soup for 2 minutes. Divide the asparagus tips among four bowls and ladle the soup over them.
Tip: When buying, look for fresh cut ends. Dry, gray ends are woody and make the stock bitter, so trim them off generously.
Tip: For a very fine soup, press it through a strainer after blending, which holds back the fibers.