White Asparagus Gazpacho

Some people love it, while others find it lacking: asparagus! I absolutely adore it and would like to share a recipe for a super pure gazpacho with this special vegetable. For this recipe, you can use less attractive and woody specimens, giving them a purpose and saving you quite a bit of money! Serve this soup cold (as gazpacho) with a piece of sourdough bread, toast, or croutons.

Ingredients for 6 bowls:

1 kg white asparagus

1.5 litres water

50 grams butter

1 piece of mace

1 heaped tablespoon of good olive oil

1 heaped tablespoon of white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

100 grams crème fraîche

For garnish: chives, parsley, celery leaves, or pieces of samphire (if you want to be fancy!)

Preparation:

Peel the asparagus, keeping the peels. Cut off the tips and slice them in half lengthwise and set aside. Cut the asparagus into pieces of 2 cm and set aside. Now you have a pile of peels, a bowl with the halved tips, and a bowl with the asparagus pieces.

Bring the water to a boil with the butter and mace, add the peels, and bring to just below boiling point (otherwise it will become a bit bitter) and let the peels steep in the hot water for 30 minutes.

Then strain the broth, return it to the pot, bring it to a boil, and add the halved tips, letting them boil for 30 seconds. Remove the tips with a slotted spoon and let them cool, setting aside. Add the asparagus pieces to the broth and let simmer gently for 20 minutes, until the pieces are completely soft. Turn off the heat, blend the soup until completely smooth, and let cool.

When cold, add the olive oil, vinegar, and crème fraîche, and blend again until smooth. Place in the fridge until use.

Serve in soup bowls and place the tips on top, along with some of the chopped greens.

Enjoy!

By: Marleen

Categories: Kitchen secrets