This is the perfect soup to welcome in spring, with its fresh flavours, including lemon, parsley, spring onions and seasonal asparagus. The golden-hued poached eggs on top of this soup are a delicious addition and add real wow factor, making it the perfect starter for a spring dinner party or lighter lunch idea.
British asparagus season falls between March and June, but the spears are at their most tender and vibrant in April.
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Yields:
8 serving(s)
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
1 hr
Cal/Serv:
293
Ingredients
1
(3lb) asparagus (buy British if you can), woody ends discarded
50g
unsalted butter
8
spring onions, finely sliced
2Tbsp.
plain flour
1
lemon, halved
1l
vegetable stock
150ml
double cream
8
medium eggs
Olive oil to drizzle, optional
Directions
Step 1
Trim asparagus tips from stalks and chop into 2.5cm (1in) lengths; reserve everything.
Step 2
In a large pan, melt the butter and fry the asparagus tips for about 3min until softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve to garnish the soup.
Step 3
Put the pan back on the heat, add the onions and fry for 3-5min until softened. Add the asparagus stalks and fry for
2min. Stir in the flour and cook for 1min. Gradually add the stock, then add the lemon halves and chopped parsley to the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10min, until the asparagus is tender. Discard lemon halves.
Step 4
Use a stick blender, or transfer soup to a blender in batches and purée until smooth.
Step 5
Return the soup to the pan and stir in the cream. Season well and keep warm over a low heat while you poach the eggs.
Step 6
Poach eggs in a pan of gently simmering water for 3-4min, until whites are set and yolk remains soft. Lift an egg out with a slotted spoon and transfer to a shallow dish of warm water. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
Step 7
Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a poached egg. Divide the reserved asparagus tips among the bowls and season well with black pepper.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
