Asparagus soup recipe

This simple asparagus soup recipe can be made from fresh or canned asparagus, making it ideal for any time of year. It is easy to make, but does use a lot of pans so there will be a fair bit of washing up afterwards I'm afraid.

Prep time: 10 min

Cooking time: 45 min

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• fresh asparagus; 12oz (350g) (or 1 tin of asparagus spears)
• vegetable stock; 1.25 pints (700ml)
• butter; 2oz (60g)
• onion; 1 chopped
• plain flour; 3 tablespoons
• ground coriander (cilantro); 1/4 tsp
• lemon juice; 1 tablespoon
• milk; 16fl oz (450ml)
• single (or light) cream; 4-6 tablespoons
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and trim the asparagus, and cut diagonally into short lengths, keeping the tips in a separate pile.

2. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, then pop in the asparagus tips only. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes then put aside.

3. In another pan, bring the stock to the boil and cook the rest of the asparagus for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Drain over a bowl to catch the stock, which we will need later.

4. Take another pan (I did warn you), and melt the butter, then cook the onion over a low heat until soft. Don't let it go brown! Next, stir in the flour cook for 1 minute, then gradually whisk in the stock that you saved earlier. Bring the pan to the boil.

5. Turn the heat down to a simmer once it has boiled, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the soup thickens. Stir in the cooked asparagus stems (not those tips we cooked separately), and season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice and coriander (cilantro). Simmer for a further 10 minutes.

6. Cool the soup and then pop it into a liquidiser or blender. Process until smooth, then pour back into a clean pan. Add the milk and the reserved asparagus tips. Bring to the boil, simmer for 2 minutes and finally stir in the cream and reheat gently. Then serve.

Using canned asparagus in this asparagus soup recipe

If you do not have any fresh asparagus you can use canned.

Just drain and use the liquid as part of the vegetable stock amount. You can miss out the steps for cooking the asparagus and continue as above, again reserving a few tips so that they float in the soup to make it look pretty.