Soup is rarely on the menu when I spot those first spindly green spears of the season – after nine asparagus-less months, I’m barely able to contain my impatience long enough to boil them and slap on some butter, let alone anything a bit more involved. But once the initial frenzy has abated, this is a great recipe for thicker, woodier stems, or for the bases of those for which you’ve used the tips elsewhere.
Prep 10 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4
500g trimmed asparagus – tips optional, if you’d prefer to use them for something else
6 spring onions
50g butter, or oil
1 tbsp flour – gluten-free is fine, if need be
Salt and black pepper
2 tbsp double cream, or creme fraiche (see step 9) – dairy-free is fine
1 A note on the asparagus
Select the thickest stalks available (slender ones aren’t a problem per se, but you may prefer to use them in a dish where their tender elegance will be better appreciated; you may also prefer to remove the feathery tips and use them elsewhere). If the bases are very dry and brown, trim them, then weigh what’s left; you need roughly 500g.
2 Trim the asparagus
Boil a litre of water in a kettle or bring it to a boil in a saucepan (unless you have one of those fancy taps). Remove the woody ends from the stalks. It’s easiest to do this by bending them individually, because they should snap at just the point where they become too fibrous to cook through in the same time as the slimmer tops.
3 Cook the bases
Cut off the tops and set aside for now. Roughly chop the tougher bases, and drop them into the pan of boiling water. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, trim the whiskery root ends and dry tops off the spring onions, and roughly chop the rest, both green and white parts.
4 Drain the asparagus ends
Important! Bearing in mind that you need to save the cooking water rather than the asparagus bases, strain the contents of the pan through a colander or sieve and into a heatproof jug (alternatively, scoop out the ends and keep the water in the pan, if you don’t need it to make the soup). Discard the spent cooked asparagus ends.
5 Make the soup base
Melt the butter in a medium pan on a medium-low heat, then briefly soften the sliced spring onions (if you’d prefer to keep this plant-based, use oil instead – I’d suggest olive oil here for its flavour).
Stir in the flour (gluten-free flour will work fine), and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring so it doesn’t burn.
6 Add the flavoured cooking water
Slowly pour in the reserved asparagus cooking water bit by bit, whisking as you do so, first to make a paste and then to loosen the paste with the rest of the liquid, so you don’t end up with lumps. Bring to a boil.
While you wait, roughly chop the tops of the stalks; if you’re using the tips, set those aside for now.
7 Add the remaining chopped stems
Add the chopped stem tops to the pan, turn down the heat slightly and simmer gently for eight minutes.
Meanwhile, if you’re using the tips, cook these separately in boiling, lightly salted water for three minutes, then drain and cool in a bowl of cold water so they retain their colour. Drain and dry the cooked tips.
8 Blend the soup mix
Take the soup off the heat, then puree until smooth, either with a stick blender or in a jug blender. (If using the latter, leave the soup to cool slightly first, because putting it in when it’s too hot can cause steam to build up in the jug, and the lid to pop off, spraying soup all over your kitchen).
9 Finishing touches
Return the soup to the pan and stir in the cream (you can use a plant-based alternative, but make sure it’s not sweetened; I’d also recommend steering clear of coconut, which doesn’t work well here). Season to taste, divide between bowls and garnish with the drained tips, if using.
