Asparagus Velouté | view more Recipe

Asparagus Velouté

'2 pounds (1 kg.) white asparagus', '1 quart (1 L.) chicken stock (or store-bought), or chicken broth (or store-bought or made from a bouillon cube)', 'A bit of sugar (1 cube if you have cubes)', '5 cup (30 g.) cornstarch', '1 egg yolk', '1 cup (25 cl.) heavy cream', 'Salt'

1. Wash the asparagus. Cut 2 inches (5 cm.) off the tips and save them for another use. Do not peel the stalks but cut them into 15-inch (3-cm.) pieces. 2. Bring the stock or broth to a boil in a soup pot. When it bubbles, add the asparagus pieces and sugar. Turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. 3. Blend and pass through a fine strainer (a chinois if possible), pressing on the solids with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Put the soup back in the pot, bring back to a boil, and boil about 30 minutes more. 4. Thoroughly mix the cornstarch in a bowl with 1 tablespoon cold water. Beat the yolk and cream together in a bowl large enough to hold all the soup. 5. When the soup in the pot has been reduced by about half, whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly, and then gently pour everything into the bowl with the egg-cream mixture, whisking as you pour. 6. Pour the contents of the bowl back into the soup pot and heat very gently in order to thicken. Stir with a spatula and turn off the heat at the first sign of boiling. Blend. Season with salt as necessary.