It is, finally, white asparagus season and what better way to celebrate than to eat as much of this ”white gold” as possible. One such way is to enjoy a steaming bowl of white asparagus soup.
The asparagus season lasts two months in the Netherlands. The first of these delicious stalks start to peek out around February or early March. Asparagus is traditionally harvested from the second Thursday in April until 24 June. For more information about Dutch asparagus and the region most famous for them, Limburg, visit this website.
White Asparagus Soup Recipe
- 5-6 stalks of white asparagus
- 1 medium sized leek
- 50 gr butter
- 50 – 60 gr white flour
- 1 – 1.2 litres stock/broth (recipe here)
- salt and pepper to taste
- nutmeg to taste
Prepare your white asparagus stalks by washing them, peeling, removing the woody bottom piece and then cut into 2 cm pieces on the diagonal. Reserve the tips.
Clean the leek. Remove most of the green part, cut off the root and the cut lengthwise to properly clean the leek. Cut the leek into 1 cm thick slices. It does not need to be perfect as the soup will be blended.
In a large soup pot melt the butter on medium hit. Add in the leeks and stir until the leeks are softened. Slowly add in the flour and then quickly mix to combine. Make sure to avoid it burning. Add approximately a third of the broth and gently stir together. Add another third and stir together. Finally add the remaining about and bring to a simmer.
Once it has reached a simmer remove from the heat and blend until smooth.
Once smooth return to a medium high heat and add the asparagus. Let cook for 8 minutes. To check that the asparagus are fully cooked pierce with a knife and if the asparagus falls off the knife they are cooked.
This makes 4 -6 servings of white asparagus soup. Garnish with parsley or grilled white asparagus halves. If you are not vegetarian or vegan you can also garnish with prosciutto slices or bacon bits. Serve with hearty chunks of bread and enjoy! Ps. check out the video below
