Asparagus Cream Soup with Crispy Bacon
Asparagus is one of the first spring veggies, its season is from April until June. It is considered one of the delicacies of the world. Labour-intensive to grow and this is also shown by its price. An asparagus plant takes three years to produce harvestable spears, but 16-18 centimeters long spears can grow on a mature asparagus during a single day.
We love asparagus very much, but I have to be honest, I do not buy it immediately at the beginning of its season when is very expensive, I wait a week or two until is a bit cheaper. It comes in white, green and purple, I used white for this cream soup.
The difference between white and green asparagus is in its growing method. White asparagus is grown underground. The white asparagus is covered with thick mound of ground or black plastic to ensure that not a sunbeam hits the spears. White asparagus is not exposed to sunlight and can’t produce chlorophyll. Green one is soaking up the sun and producing chlorophyll, which is what turns the vegetable green. The purple one is hybrid, comes from certain varieties of asparagus.
There are several ways to make this vegetable. My mom used to cut it in 2-3 cm chunks and add it to chicken stock with dumplings. Steamed asparagus with ham and Hollandaise sauce is a very popular dish using asparagus. It’s very simple and doesn’t take long to make, perfect after a busy day. It is easy to make a very delicious side dish if you roast it in the oven, grill on BBQ, sauté in a bit of butter or just blanche it.
Asparagus is one of the foods that make your pee smell. Yes, you read that right, we are talking about urination on a cooking site. All of us have already experienced this, but maybe you didn’t know the reason. Our bodies convert asparagusic acid into sulfur-containing chemicals, which leave the body through urine, causing strong sulfur smell. Then now we know everything about asparagus, don’t we?
Asparagus Cream Soup with Crispy Bacon
Equipment
- Immersion Blender
Ingredients
- 1½ kg white asparagus fresh
- 600 ml chicken stock
- 200 ml almond cream
- 2 tsp tapioca flour
- 2 tbsp water
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp black pepper freshly ground
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 8 slices bacon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- parsley and black pepper as garnish
Instructions
- Peel the asparagus with a vegetable peeler and discard the woody bottom 2-3 centimeters.
- Cut cleaned asparagus to 2-3 cm pieces and put them into soup pan.
- Add 600 ml hot chicken stock (if you do not have homemade, it can be made from bio bouillon cubes, check the ingredients on the label). Place a lid on the pan and cook the asparagus on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until is soft. Check it with a fork.
- Use an immersion blender to mash the asparagus in the stock until is creamy. (Possible to use blender and food processor too, but I prefer immersion blender because easier to clean it, and for this amount is enough.)
- Add 2 tsp tapioca flour to 2 tbsp water and mix it very well.
- Add tapioca flour mix to the almond cream and stir it.
- Add almond cream mixture to the mashed asparagus and stir it on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes thicker, it is creamy.
- Add pepper and nutmeg into the soup, taste it and season it with salt if necessary.
- Prepare crispy bacon while the soup is cooking. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan.
- Add 2-3 slices of bacon into the pan at a time and fry them until are golden crispy.
- Place fried bacon on paper towel to absorb unnecessary fat and leave them on for some minutes, until the slices are a bit harder.
- Serve the asparagus cream soup with fried crispy slices of bacon on the top and decorate with a bit of parsley.
Woooow I’ve never made asparagus soup before (actually I rarely make soup, not very good at it, something always goes wrong!) but this was absolutely delicious! Didn’t have almond cream so used coconut milk instead, and I used a blender but it came out perfect 👌 I now have one happy husband! Thanks again 😋
Dear Maddison, thanks you very much for your nice feedback! I have to be honest, I’ve never tried to make it with coconut milk. I use almond cream in this soup because its taste is more neutral. But I will try with coconut milk too.