Asparagus season is almost over here, though if it was up to me, it could last all year long! I love pretty much everything with asparagus: green or white soup, quiche, salad, in an oven dish, grilled or just cooked, traditionally, with hardboiled eggs and buttersauce.

Because the season is almost over, most supermarkets are now selling the asparagus for a bargain price. Lucky me! So obviously, I made (white) asparagus last night! Just a simple, but delicious friday night meal. I cooked them, and served  them with whole new potatoes (boiled in skin and quickly popped them in the oven), salmon for the bf and duck breast filet for me, with buttersauce, of course.

In my last post I mentioned how much of a soup-lover I am, so naturally I saved the asparagus broth, the peels and the woody ends of the stem. You can make a simple, but very tasty asparagus soup with this.

Quick and tasty asparagus soup

• the peels and endbits of white asparagus
• asparagusbroth (the water you boiled them in, it’s very flavorful!)
• a stick of butter (about 100 grams)
• 2 or 3 shallots, finely sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• a small dried peperoncini, in case you want to spice it up a bit, crumbled up
• one teaspoon of dried tarragon
• two heaped tablespoon of flour
• dry white wine (approximately one glass)

Add the peels and the stem-ends to the broth, and cook over a low heat. Don’t let it cook to long, 20 to 30 minutes is enough. If you let it boil too long, the taste might end up bitter. Take out the peels and discard them. The endbits can be cut up and added to the soup or removed as well

Slowly heat up a stick of butter in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic, soften, and add the tarragon and peperoncini. Sift the flour and add to the onion/garlic mixture, making a roux. Add the wine, stir until the mixture is smooth and pour in a ladle of the asparagusbroth. Stir until smooth, and repeat until all the broth is in the soup. Add some freshly ground salt and pepper, and let it simmer for a while so the flavors will intesify.

If you prefer a creamier soup, feel free to add some cream to your liking. I prefer it without, as the taste of the asparagus stands out more.

Such a luscious soup..

You can garnish with some fresh parsley, grated parmesan cheese, or chives. Enjoy! I know I will.. Too bad I can’t post how great my kitchen smells right now..!