Spring is here!  Actually it’s been here for a while, the earliest blossom has finished and almost all of the trees have their leaves. We have even had some lovely sunny days. However, to me, a sure sign of spring is when British asparagus arrive. I got my first bunch last week, exciting times!

Wherever your asparagus comes from this soup is a quick way to enjoy them. I had seen an asparagus soup recipe with a Thai theme and I still may try that one but for the first asparagus of the season I wanted the asparagus to be the star of the show. So this soup has just a few ingredients, asparagus with a little onion, a waft of garlic and a hint of lemon grass. Its light and fresh, clean eating at its best.

Asparagus soup with a hint of Lemongrass

ingredients

• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 1 small onion
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled but left whole
• 1 stalk of lemongrass
• 500 ml vegetable stock

method

1. Prepare the asparagus by washing, snapping the woody ends off and chopping. Dice the onion and peel the garlic, leaving it whole.
2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion and whole garlic clove and sauté until softened.
3. Remove the garlic clove and add the asparagus. Stir to coat in the oil and sauté for a couple of minutes.
4. Peel off the outer layer of lemongrass and bash the stalk firmly with a wooden spoon to bruise it and slightly split it to release its flavour. Add to the asparagus and onion,
5. Add the vegetable stock to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, until the thickest asparagus are softened.
6. Remove the lemongrass and purée the soup, I use a blender but an immersion blender would be fine. Purée until smooth.
7. Season with salt and pepper and serve.