Asparagus Cream Soup with Fresh Herbs

This is the companion recipe to the Risotto with Green Asparagus Tips as it uses up the stalks. These don’t need to be done right away but because they freeze well they can still be used a few days later. On the other hand, the soup can be made at the same time as the risotto (as I did, in fact) and frozen for later use, although I would add the cream when cooking it before serving.

What you need

• 1 knob of butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed (if you don’t have wild garlic)
• 1 to 2 bundles of green asparagus stalks, cut into thin slices, (discard the dry ends)
• 2-3 asparagus tips per person for decoration (won’t work if you freeze the soup)
• 1 tblsp sugar
• salt to taste
• 2-3 tblsp white balsamic or cider vinegar
• 1 l vegetable broth
• 200 ml fresh cream (optionally half of that whipped)
• a cup of chopped fresh herbs (lovage, flat-leaved parsley, tarragon, wild garlic)
• (salt and) pepper to taste

What you do

1. Melt the butter and sauté the onions (and garlic if using)
2. Add the sliced asparagus stalks, sprinkle with sugar, salt and the vinegar. Sauté for about 5 minutes, making sure the ingredients don’t take colour.
3. Add the vegetable broth and simmer until the stalks are soft.
4. Purée and pass through a sieve to ensure that the woody fibers are left behind, but the soft tissue can be mixed into the soup. (If this is for guests or you intend to freeze the soup for later use, this is where you stop to do the remaining steps when you need to get the soup onto the table.)
5. Add the asparagus tips and bring the broth to the boil. Simmer until the tips have reached the softness you like (I like them quite crunchy).
6. Add the cream (the whipped cream can be placed into the plates immediately before serving with the soup poured on top) and the fresh herbs, warm up and serve immediately.