Asparagus and Pea Soup with Chervil

Asparagus Soup

Asparagus and Pea Soup with Chervil

This Asparagus and Pea Soup is an easy and versatile spring or summer recipe.   It can be served either hot or cold and works well as a light lunch or supper or as a first course at a dinner party.

I make lots of soups in autumn and winter – a home-made vegetable soup is one of my favourite lunches – but not so many in spring and summer.  However, I have a few soups in my repertoire, like this Asparagus and Pea Soup (and also my Leek and Potato Soup with Fresh Chives) which are just as good, or better, eaten cold rather than hot.  This is fantastic in a typical English summer, with variable weather, as you don’t know when you are making the soup whether you will need warming up with a piping hot bowl or cooling down!

In praise of fresh herbs

I use chervil, which has a delicate aniseed flavour, in this soup.   It is one of my favourite summer herbs and is very easy to grow and will flourish in your garden or in a pot on your window-ledge.   If you don’t grow it yourself, it may be hard to source and dill, which also has an aniseed flavour, or parsley or chives are good substitutes. A sprinkle of fresh herbs are a brilliant way of enhancing both the flavour and the look of a home-made soup.

Other easy vegetarian soup recipes

I have lots of easy, vegetarian soup recipes. If you like this Tomato Soup, you might like some of the others. All my soups are vegetarian and all can be made vegan by substituting animal fats, such as butter, for vegetable fats. Some of them are pretty simple such as Tomato Soup, Fennel SoupJerusalem Artichoke Soup  or Sweetcorn Chowder and showcase a single vegetable. Others combine vegetables which have complimentary flavours such as Curried Parsnip and Apple SoupMoroccan Spiced Sweet Potato SoupCeleriac and Apple SoupMushroom and Chestnut SoupPumpkin and Sweetcorn Soup or Leek and Potato Soup. A few have more unusual combinations of flavours such as Beetroot Soup with Coconut or Butternut and Peanut Butter SoupNettle Soup uses foraged ingredients. I also have a few chilled soup recipes, which are fantastic cold in the summer, but can also be served warm such as Asparagus and Pea.

Other asparagus recipes

If you love asparagus, you might also like my Asparagus and Herb Cheese Tart and my Asparagus Quiche.

Recipe for Asparagus and Pea Soup with Chervil

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Asparagus Soup

Asparagus and Pea Soup with Chervil

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  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: for 6 people 1x
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Delicious and versatile, as it can be eaten hot or cold, this Asparagus and Pea Soup, enhanced with fresh Chervil, is perfect for a light lunch or as a first course at a summer dinner party.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 onion
  • 2 large potatoes
  • 50 g (2 oz) butter
  • 250 g (8 oz) fresh asparagus
  • 2 teaspoons of vegetable bouillon or stock powder
  • 500 ml (1 pint) water
  • 175 g (6 oz) frozen peas (defrosted)
  • A little milk to thin the soup – around 250 ml (Half a pint)
  • A bunch of chervil (or parsley or dill)
  • A little double cream to serve

Instructions

  1. Peel and chop the onion and the potatoes and put the pieces in a large pan with the butter.   Fry gently for about 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
  2. Remove the ends of the asparagus stems as these can be woody and difficult to eat. The best way of doing this is to simply bend the stem and it will snap at the right point.
  3. Once you have removed the woody ends from the asparagus, cut the tip off each spear and set aside.  Then chop the stalks into 1 cm sections.
  4. Add the pieces of chopped asparagus stalk to the pan with the onion and potato pieces.  Add 500 ml of water and 2 teaspoons of vegetable bouillon or stock powder.
  5. Simmer for around 15 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked.
  6. Then add the frozen peas and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  7. Put the soup into a blender (or use a hand blender) and process until smooth.
  8. Return the soup to the large pan.  Add sufficient milk to thin the soup to the desired consistency – you may either want a thicker, chunkier soup or a thinner one.
  9. If you plan to serve the soup hot, put the reserved asparagus tips into the soup and they will cook in it while it is reheated.   If you plan to serve the soup cold, it is best to steam the asparagus tips separately for 5 minutes and then add them to the soup just before serving.
  10. Serve topped with chopped chervil, or alternatively parsley, and a swirl of cream.

Notes

This soup is very versatile and can be served either hot or cold.

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