Ingredients

• 500g/1lb 2oz white asparagus
• 50g/2oz unsalted butter
• 1 shallot
• finely chopped
• 700ml/1¼ pints chicken stock
• 70ml/4½ tbsp crème fraiche
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp dry fino sherry
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• to garnish
• sea salt flakes
• white pepper

Directions

• First peel each asparagus stalk from the tip to the cut end. Chop off the tips and set them aside
• then cut the stalks into 1cm pieces.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan and sweat the shallot for about 5 minutes until translucent – don’t let it brown. Add the chopped asparagus stalks
• keeping the tips aside
• and sweat them gently with the shallot for another 5 minutes.
• Pour in the stock and simmer until the stalks are very tender. This will take 20–30 minutes
• depending on the thickness of the stalks. Tip everything into a food processor and blitz until very smooth
• then pour the soup back into the saucepan.
• Bring the soup back to a simmer and add the reserved asparagus tips. Cook gently for about 5 minutes until the asparagus tips are just cooked through.
• Mix the crème fraiche
• egg yolks and sherry in a small bowl. With the pan off the heat
• stir this mixture into the soup and continue to stir gently for a couple of minutes until the egg yolks have thickened the soup. Warm through over a very gentle heat
• stirring constantly and taking care not to break up the asparagus tips.
• Serve the soup garnished with a sprinkling of parsley and a generous slab of well-buttered German potato bread on the side. Phwoar!