This is a thrifty homemade soup made with the part of the asparagus that you normally discard. Over the summer, each time we have had asparagus, I have saved the husks and kept them in the freezer. This soup is not only frugal, but it’s really easy to make and delightfully creamy with only a tiny amount of cream for show!
You do need to whizz and sieve this soup to extract the stringy woody husks, but this process helps achieve that lovely glossy consistency and it’s effortless if you use a Nutribullet or similar blender.
Ingredients
- approximately 450g of asparagus husks
- 2 small onions, finely chopped
- 10g of butter for frying the onion
- 30g of butter & 30g of plain flour (for the roux)
- 300ml chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- salt & pepper to taste
- smoked rapeseed oil & cream (just a drizzle to garnish)
Method
- Gently boil the husks for twenty minutes in just enough water to cover.
- Meanwhile, fry the onion in the 10g of butter for a few minutes, until translucent and put to one side.
- Now make the roux by frying the flour in the butter, stirring continuously. Let the flour cook for a thirty seconds or so to cook out the flavour. Slowly add the chicken stock (stirring constantly) until you have a smooth texture.
- Strain the husks, reserving the cooking water, and then use the water to loosen the consistency of the soup as you go along.
- Add the husks, bay leaf and fried onions, bringing it all together to cook for another twenty minutes.
- If the soup looks too thick, add more of the cooking water or tap water if needed.
- Allow the soup to cool a little before whizzing in your blender in batches. It’s best to set up a mixing bowl with a sieve over it and transfer each batch to the bowl, using a spatula to push the soup through as you go.
- Finally, return the sieved soup to the pan and gently warm through before serving with a cheffy swirl of cream and a generous drizzle of smoked rapeseed oil. Season to taste.
