Asparagus Soup
Serves 4 Time 1 hour Difficulty 2/5 Ingredients 6 Steps 10
Ingredients
- 12 thick asparagus spears
- 2 cups water
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼–1 cup whipping or light cream
- Salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
Steps
- Snap tough ends off asparagus.
- Boil water in medium saucepan. Salt lightly. Add asparagus. Simmer lively 10 minutes. Lift out with tongs. Set aside. Reserve cooking water.
- Heat butter in separate saucepan large enough for the soup. Add chopped shallot. Cook gently until soft but not browned.
- Add asparagus and 1 cup cooking water. Boil. Simmer lively 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Strain through medium sieve into bowl. Reserve liquid.
- Purée solids in food processor with enough reserved liquid to purée smoothly.
- Strain purée through sieve back into non-reactive saucepan, rubbing through with flexible scraper or wooden spoon. Discard fibrous contents of sieve.
- Add cream and enough remaining asparagus cooking water for desired consistency. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and cayenne.
- Reheat gently over low heat. Do not boil.
- Serve hot or chilled. To chill, cool, then refrigerate uncovered until cold. Cover with plastic wrap. Keeps refrigerated up to 2 days.
Notes from the original
- Don't be tempted to omit the final straining of the soup! If you leave the bits of fibrous asparagus skin in the soup, they give it a very unpleasant texture. Use a sieve with a medium mesh, not too coarse and not too fine: too coarse will let too much of the fiber through, too fine will make the job of straining too difficult.
- The richest version of this recipe, using a full cup of whipping cream, produces an especially luscious and velvety soup. For a lighter soup with fewer calories, use the smaller amount of whipping cream or substitute light cream. If you're planning to use only ¼ cup of cream, cook the asparagus in 3 cups of water so that you'll have enough cooking water to add to the finished soup to achieve the right consistency.
- To make this soup vegan, cook the asparagus in 3 cups of water, omit the cream, and use oil instead of butter to cook the shallot.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Asparagus Soup” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-07-14, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.