Creamy White Asparagus Soup

If this carries on, Prymitywna Kuchnia will have to rename itself Asparagus Kitchen. I’ve gone a bit mad. As I’ve already written, I’ve admired asparagus every year for 18 years now (yes, my second eighteenth birthday is coming soon; why has nobody realised that 36 is a truly „round” anniversary?), but this year it’s completely taken over my life.

Yesterday, asparagus pizza, asparagus with an egg, from the frying pan. And today, finally, soup. Very delicate. If you’re expecting a heavy, thick creamy soup, your hopes are misplaced. This one is very light. More like a little cream, almost a savoury pudding, a mousse 😉

That must be the egg’s doing, but this soup is certainly no yolk — I mean, joke. Recommended!

Oh, I almost forgot 😉 If you want to serve white asparagus as a starter or a side dish and use some for soup, use the thinner spears for the soup. With green asparagus, the thinner ones are best (in my opinion), but with white asparagus it’s better to choose thicker spears for a starter: they won’t break when you peel them. The thin ones, though… Don’t get me started. You’re happily peeling away, then snap — your asparagus is in two pieces.

Ugh, why did I have to remind myself of that peeling again?

Recipe at a glance:

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2 people (if you want to make more, multiply the quantities)

Calories: hardly any

Ingredients for white asparagus soup:

• 5 thick white asparagus spears
• 4 new potatoes (old ones would probably work too 😉
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 1 hen’s egg yolk
• 1 shallot
• 0.75 litres vegetable stock (I confess: I used a stock cube)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 slice rye bread (for making croutons)
• ground black pepper

Recipe for creamy asparagus soup:

I peeled the potatoes and white asparagus (phew) and washed them thoroughly. I cut off the woody ends of the asparagus. I sliced the potatoes thinly and cut the asparagus into short pieces.

In a medium saucepan, I brought 0.75 litres of water to the boil and dissolved a vegetable stock cube in it (you can use your own stock; I won’t object). I added the vegetables and cooked them for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, I added the finely cut shallot and torn parsley. I added a teaspoon of salt and stirred. I cooked it for another 5 minutes or so, until the potatoes and asparagus were soft.

Once the vegetables were soft, I took the soup off the „heat” and let it cool slightly. Then I blended it thoroughly with a blender.

In a glass, I beat the egg yolk and added 2 tablespoons of the blended soup. I stirred and poured it into the saucepan of soup. I added a teaspoon of sugar and briefly blended it again. I heated it gently. The soup is ready.

I served it with peppery croutons. You can make them from a slice of rye bread (preferably 2 – 3 days old so it isn’t too moist), cut into cubes, drizzled with pepper oil (two teaspoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of pepper) and baked for about 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 degrees Celsius. Enjoy!