Asparagus Velouté, Sautéed Asparagus, Asparagus Salad, Poached Egg
Soup doesn’t have to be thin—silky asparagus velouté with textures fit for an Easter table.
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1h
Servings
4
Difficulty
Beginner
Introduction
I’ve loved vegetable soup since I was small. When my mother asked what I wanted for dinner, I’d answer straight away: “soup or salad.” Because soup doesn’t have to be a thin, joyless liquid, I developed this recipe—it layers textures around a velvety, luxurious cream that will impress on any Easter table.
Instructions
For the vegetable stock:
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Sweat the trimmings in a pot and cover with water.
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Bring to the boil while you prepare the other components.
For the velouté:
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Roughly chop the onion, celery, leek and garlic.
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Heat oil in a pot, add the onion, celery and leek and sweat over medium-low with a pinch of salt. When translucent, add the garlic.
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Cut the asparagus stalks from the tips and reserve the tips.
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Roughly chop the stalks and the potato and add to the pot.
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Sweat a little longer, then cover with just enough vegetable stock.
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Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cardamom crushed in a mortar.
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Tie bay, sage and parsley into a bouquet garni, add to the pot and simmer 15–20 minutes. Remove the bouquet.
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Blend with a stick blender to a pale green cream.
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Stir in the cream, mix well and turn off the heat.
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Pass through a chinois for a silky texture.
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Meanwhile, roughly chop hazelnuts and toast in a dry pan until fragrant. Set aside.
For the sautéed asparagus:
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Slice the shallot into rings.
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Heat oil in a pan and sauté the shallot with salt.
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Add half the asparagus tips. Sauté 4 minutes, adjusting salt and pepper.
For the asparagus salad:
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Blanch the remaining tips in boiling water 30 seconds, then plunge into iced water.
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Drain and dress with fleur de sel, pepper and lemon juice.
For the poached egg:
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Heat water in a pan with vinegar.
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Crack the egg into a sieve, drain 4–5 seconds, then transfer to a cup.
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When the water is simmering, stir into a whirlpool and slide in the egg. Cook about 2–3 minutes until the white is set and the yolk still soft; remove at once.
To serve:
- Place the egg in the centre of a wide plate. Around it, arrange the asparagus salad and sautéed asparagus with shallot. Ladle 2 spoonfuls of velouté around. Scatter hazelnuts and a pinch of smoked paprika.
