All Easy Recipes. Cook all that you can cook. Cream Of Asparagus Soup
(Potage Crime d'Asperges)
 
What You Need:            (To serve 4 to 6)
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  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots or scallions
  • 2 egg yolks
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons soft butter
  • Salt
  • White pepper
  • 2 pounds fresh asparagus
  • 6 cups chicken stock, fresh or canned
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 7 tablespoons butter
  • 6 tablespoons flour

    • How To Cook:
    1. With a small sharp knife (not a vegetable peeler), peel each asparagus stalk of its skin and tough outer flesh. At the butt end the peeling may be as thick as 1/16 inch, but it should gradually become paper thin as the knife cuts and slides toward the tip.

    2. Cut off the tips where the scales end and trim away any oversized scales. Trim off and discard about ¼ inch from the butt ends and cut the rest of the stalks into ½-inch lengths; set aside.

    3. In a 3- to 4-quartsaucepan, bring the chicken stock and the salt to a boil over moderate heat. Drop in the asparagus tips and boil slowly for 5 to 8 minutes, or until they are just tender. Drain the stock into a bowl and set the tips aside in another.

    4. In the same saucepan, melt 5 tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat. Stir in the 6 tablespoons of flour, then cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 1 or 2 minutes. Do not let this roux brown.

    5. Remove the pan from the heat, let it cool for a few seconds, then pour in the stock, beating constantly with a wire whisk to blend the stock and the roux. Return the pan to moderate heat and stir until this cream soup base comes to a boil, thickens and is perfectly smooth. Turn the heat down and let the soup base simmer very gently.

    6. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in an 8- to 10-inch enameled or stainless-steel skillet. When the foam subsides, stir in the cut-up asparagus stalks and the shallots, and toss them in the butter over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Stir the stalks and shallots into the simmering soup base and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until the asparagus is tender.

    7. Puree the soup through a food mill into a mixing bowl and then again through a fine sieve back into the pan. With a wire whisk, blend the egg yolks and cream together in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

    8. Whisk in the pureed soup, 2 tablespoons at a time, untillh cup has been added. Then reverse the process and slowly whisk the now-warmed egg-yolk-and-cream mixture into the soup. Bring to a boil, and boil for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

    9. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the 2 tablespoons of soft butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Taste the soup and season it with salt and white pepper. Add the reserved asparagus tips and ladle the soup into a tureen or into individual soup bowls.

    		 
    		 
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