karohemd: (Chef)
Ozzy ([personal profile] karohemd) wrote2012-06-06 12:41 am

[Cooking] An almost perfect asparagus soup

This long weekend was perfect for some experimentation in the kitchen so on Monday I used up the rest of the asparagus (I had sauteed spears with my lamb steaks on Sunday evening), cooking the front half of the spears in lemony butter, removed them from the butter and kept them warm. Then I cooked the chopped stems in the same butter with some veg stock. When those were tender, I blitzed them with a stick blender, seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg, stirred in a good dollop of double cream and blitzed again, tilting the blender head to get in as much air as possible. The result was a light, smooth, fluffy soup. The flavour was spot on, too.
I served the soup in a deep plate, with the cooked spears and a poached duck's egg yolk on top. Probably the technically best dish I've ever cooked. Very happy. :o)
Cream of asparagus soup, poached duck's egg yolk

[identity profile] undyingking.livejournal.com 2012-06-06 08:07 am (UTC)(link)
Looks great! We've got a bunch of headless stems in the fridge waiting to be souped, I might take inspiration from this.

[identity profile] karohemd.livejournal.com 2012-06-06 08:57 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks! If my cooking posts inspire only one reader, my work is done. :o)

[identity profile] bateleur.livejournal.com 2012-06-06 11:05 am (UTC)(link)
Yum!

What are ducks eggs like? I don't think I've ever eaten one.

[identity profile] karohemd.livejournal.com 2012-06-06 11:23 am (UTC)(link)
A little bigger and much richer than hen's eggs. If I have duck's eggs and make pancakes I use only two instead of three. I believe the same applies to proper baking. They are glorious and very filling scrambled, too.

[identity profile] nelladarren.livejournal.com 2012-06-10 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
2!

Thanks for dinner - was great! (Didn't do the egg, had chicken breast instead, went very well with my chicken stock.)

Next time I'll roast the asparagus heads in the oven though...

[identity profile] karohemd.livejournal.com 2012-06-10 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
That's exactly what I mean by inspiration. I inspired you to make something and you decided you'd prefer it made differently. I do this all the time when I read recipes or watch cookery shows.