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Asparagus velouté

The delicate flavour of asparagus comes through in this smooth and velvety soup. At the restaurant, we would use asparagus trimmings to make the velouté, reserving all the young, tender spears for salads and for garnishes. You could do the same, using a mixture of older stalks and any peelings you have. The soup can be served hot or well chilled.

SERVES 4 AS A STARTER

2 large bunches of asparagus (about 800g) 1½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle 30g butter

1 medium onion, chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped

stripped leaves from a sprig of thyme about 700ml hot chicken or vegetable stock

(see pages 258-9) squeeze of lemon juice (optional) 150ml double cream

Pick out 12 of the most attractive asparagus spears and cut off the tips to use for garnish. Roughly chop the rest and set aside.

Heat the oil and half the butter in a large pan. Add the onion, celery and some seasoning and cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the chopped asparagus and thyme, and stir over high heat for another 3-4 minutes until the asparagus is tender but still vibrant green. Pour in just enough stock to cover, and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

Blend the soup in 2 batches while it is still hot: place half the vegetables in a blender using a slotted spoon, add 1 or 2 ladles of hot stock and blend well. Push the resulting purée through a fine sieve, pressing down hard with the back of a ladle. Discard the pulp and repeat with the remaining soup. Gradually add more hot stock to the strained purée until you get a creamy consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a little lemon juice if you like, and erring towards the side of over-seasoning if you intend to serve the soup cold.

When ready to serve, add the cream and gently reheat until it just comes to a simmer. Meanwhile, sauté the asparagus tips with the remaining butter and some seasoning in a hot frying pan. Add a splash of water and cover the pan. Let the asparagus steam for 2-3 minutes until just tender.

Pour the soup into warm bowls and garnish with the asparagus tips. Drizzle over a little olive oil and serve immediately.