Classic French Recipes | Cream of asparagus soup

Springtime in France, and April in particular, is when the new season’s asparagus – first the less common but highly prized white asparagus (sunlight deprived) and then the better known green variety – begins to appear in local markets.

In the French kitchen some cooks like to simply griddle, gently fry or steam these finger-sized tubes of juicy wholesomeness and drizzle with a little oil or butter and perhaps some lemon juice.

But another great way of retaining both the flavour and colour of the green variety is to make a thick soup. Nothing could be simpler – the soup can be served warm or chilled and don’t forget to save a few of the asparagus tips for presentation.

Serves 6

Ingredients


900g fresh asparagus spears
1 medium onion, diced
50g butter
1 litre chicken stock
1 sprig fresh thyme
150ml double cream (or crème fraîche)
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste.



Prepare the asparagus by chopping off the tough stringy bases of the stems and slicing the remaining stalks into 2.5cm pieces. Put about 12 of the tips to one side.

Gently fry the diced onion in the melted butter for about five minutes, taking care not to let the onion brown. Return the sliced asparagus to the pan, sprinkle in the thyme leaves and sweat for a further 10 minutes.

Add the hot chicken stock a little at a time. Once this has come to a gentle simmer, cover the pan partially and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool a little before transferring to a blender (you may need to do this in stages). Add salt and pepper to season.

Finally, add the asparagus tips and the cream, stir well and gently heat for four minutes.

Serve either hot or allow to cool and serve well chilled.

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Monday, April, 18th at 13.05 by Katharine Barrau