The very first British asparagus starts to come into season around the time of Easter and makes a great starter to any Easter menu.
Here’s a very simple asparagus soup recipe which you can whip up in minutes.
Ingredients
- a glug of olive oil
- one large onion – finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
- 1 large handful of asparagus – tough bottom bits snapped off and the remainder chopped into 1 inch pieces
- chicken or vegetable stock
- a splosh of single cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- a couple of slices of toasted sourdough bread (any bread will do but I love the texture and flavour of sourdough and think it goes really well with this soup).
Optional extra veg:
- When I’m making this soup I often add extra veg that I have knocking about in the fridge. At the moment I’m making this soup with a couple of small courgettes added to it. Another great flavour with asparagus is peas (a couple of handfuls of frozen peas works best), or a finely chopped leek. Half the joy of cooking is experimenting with flavours to find new and tasty combinations.
(We have now just eaten the soup with the additional courgettes and it’s a hit. Something to definitely try if you’re looking for ways to vary this soup.)
Method
In a medium sized pan heat the olive oil and then add the chopped onions and garlic. Heat over a low to medium heat until soft then add the chopped asparagus (and other veg) and cook for a further minute or so.
Add the stock (just enough to cover the veg) and simmer gently with a lid on for around 10 to 15 minutes. Long enough for the veg to soften but not turn to a mush.
When the veg are cooked remove the pan from the heat and blend the soup to a silky smooth texture.
Season to taste and then stir through a splosh of single cream. Check the seasoning again once you have added the cream.
Serve in bowls with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a grind of black pepper with the toasted sourdough on the side.
Extras
A couple of ways of jazzing up this very simple dish are to add a poached egg. All you need to do is separately poach the egg and add it to the soup (just drop it on the top before you are about to serve). Asparagus and egg are a classic combination and though this may sound a bit strange I’d recommend you give it a go as it tastes great.
You could also fry some thin slices of pancetta and lay the crispy strips across the top of the soup. Adding extra texture and flavour to the soup.