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Asparagus Soup

Felix Intelegando Updated All recipes

This is Mum’s asparagus soup: a creamy Danish-style soup made from two cans of white asparagus pieces and their own liquid, thickened with flour and milk, with fresh green asparagus cooked in for the last 2-3 minutes. It serves 4 and takes about 20 minutes. When I was a child, asparagus was a treat saved for big family celebrations. It was expensive then and it still is, but a whole pot of this soup costs very little.

A white bowl of creamy pale asparagus soup with short pieces of green asparagus, a crusty bread slice sprinkled with coarse salt beside it on a light wooden table
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A white bowl of creamy pale asparagus soup with short pieces of green asparagus, a crusty bread slice sprinkled with coarse salt beside it on a light wooden table

Recipe

Asparagus Soup

Prep
5 mins
Cook
15 mins
Total
20 mins
Serves
4 servings

Ingredients

Method

  1. Start by pouring the asparagus pieces into a sieve over a bowl – the liquid should be used in the soup, so do not discard it.
  2. Melt the margarine in a pan.
  3. Add the liquid from the asparagus pieces – close to 200 ml – a little at a time as you stir.
  4. Add the flour with stirring until you have a uniform mass.
  5. Add the milk a little at a time until you have a creamy béchamel sauce. If you are short of time, you can buy a ready-made white sauce, but it’s a waste of money.
  6. Let the sauce boil and season with salt and possibly pepper.
  7. Blend the asparagus pieces with the remaining 200 ml of liquid and add them to the soup.
  8. Bring the soup to the boil.
  9. Snap off the woody lower part of the green asparagus, cut the spears into suitable pieces and cook in the soup for 2-3 minutes.
  10. Add the meatballs or fish balls, if using, and let them heat through without boiling.

Step by step, in pictures

The recipe card above in six stages, from draining the canned asparagus to adding the fresh green spears.

  1. Line drawing of short asparagus pieces draining in a colander set over a bowl, liquid dripping into the bowlDrain the asparagus and keep the liquid
  2. Line drawing of a block of margarine melting in a frying pan on a gas burnerMelt the margarine
  3. Line drawing of a whisk stirring a smooth, thick mixture in a saucepanStir in the liquid and the flour until smooth
  4. Line drawing of milk poured from a carton into a saucepan while a second hand whisksAdd the milk a little at a time
  5. Line drawing of asparagus pieces in liquid inside a lidded blender jugBlend the asparagus with the rest of the liquid
  6. Line drawing of hands snapping the end off an asparagus spear, cut pieces on a chopping board beside a potSnap and cut the green asparagus, then cook it in the soup

How the can replaces cream and stock

The liquid in the cans works as the stock. You drain the white asparagus pieces over a bowl, use about 200 ml of that liquid to start the sauce, and blend the pieces with the remaining 200 ml, so everything in the can goes back into the pot. Flour and 300-400 ml of milk turn it into a creamy white sauce, which is why there is no cream and no stock cube on the card.

The green asparagus goes in last and cooks for only 2-3 minutes, so the pieces stay bright against the smooth white base. Snap off the woody lower end of each spear before you cut it.

You can also make the soup with the canned pieces alone and leave the green spears out. All five Danish recipes consulted for this update start from the same canned asparagus pieces; most of them add cream and stock cubes, which this version does without.

Homemade or packet soup?

A powdered or frozen asparagus soup can be cheaper, but powder does not taste as good as homemade, and frozen soup takes longer to prepare than this recipe, which goes from can to bowl in about 20 minutes.

What to serve with asparagus soup

Bread, plus meatballs or fish balls in the soup if you want it to be a main course. The card lists them as optional: add them at the very end and let them heat through without boiling.

For the bread, a homemade potato bread works well, or an ordinary loaf freshened up: brush it lightly with cold water, sprinkle it with a little coarse salt and warm it in the oven. Other Danish recipes for this soup also suggest croutons, chopped parsley or watercress on top.

More soups on the site: carrot soup, minestrone soup and corn soup with potatoes and squash.

White and green asparagus are the same plant

White asparagus is not a separate kind of asparagus. The spears are kept covered with soil while they grow, so they never get light and never turn green. That is why this recipe can mix canned white pieces and fresh green spears in one pot.

Asparagus soup questions

Is asparagus good for soup?

Yes. Blended asparagus gives a smooth, creamy base, and short pieces of fresh spear add bite. This recipe uses both: blended canned white asparagus and green asparagus cooked in for 2-3 minutes.

Can I make it with only canned asparagus?

Yes. Leave out the green asparagus. The blended canned pieces and their liquid carry the flavour on their own.

Can I use butter instead of margarine?

Yes. Use the same 15 g of butter; either works.

Can I use a ready-made white sauce?

You can if you are short of time, but it costs more than making the sauce from flour, milk and the asparagus liquid.

How do I make the soup thicker?

Use the lower amount of milk, 300 ml. If it is still too thin, whisk a little flour into cold water and stir it into the simmering soup, a fix other Danish recipes for this soup also suggest.

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