Asparagus Velouté Recipes

ASPARAGUS VELOUTE (VELVET SOUP, HOT OR COLD)

Steps:

• 1. Sort out 12 most attractive spears, cut off the tips to use for garnish. Roughly chop the rest and set aside.
• 2. Heat olive oil and 1/2 the butter in a large pot and add the chopped onion, chopped celery, and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently with wooden spoon, till vegetables begin to soften, 4-6 min. Add the chopped asparagus and the thyme, and nutmeg, and stir over high heat until asparagus is tender but stillvibrant green, 3-4 min. Pour in just enough stock (chicken or vegetable) to cover and simmer for 2 min. Remove from heat.
• 3. Blend soup while it is still hot. Place 1/2 the vegetables in a food processor or blender using a slotted spoon, add 1 or 2 ladles of hot stock, and puree well, pour through a strainer or seive and repeat till all is complete. Discard pulp....Stir in remaining stock stirring in till well blended you will have a creamy consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, add a little lemon juice if you like, do not over season, especially if you are serving cold...
• 4. When ready to serve add the cream, as not to scortch, just to a simmer. Meanwhile, saute the asparagus tips in the remaining butter with someseasoning in a hot frying pan or saute pan. Add a splash of water, cover the pan, and let the asparagus steam until just tender, 2-3 min.
• 5. Pour soup into warm bowls garnish with asparagus tips. Drizzle with a little olive oil over the top and serve immediately.

ASPARAGUS VELOUTé

Steps:

• 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.

NAGE OYSTERS AND ASPARAGUS IN PERNOD VELOUTE

Steps:

• Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a small saucepan. In a heavy -bottomed pot, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and saute, stirring for 2 minutes. Turn heat down to medium and sprinkle the flour over the leeks. Saute, stirring for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the boiling chicken stock all at once. Beat vigorously with a whisk to incorporate the flour into the stock. Return to boil and add the celery. Reduce to a bare simmer, and cook for 30 minutes.
• When ready to serve, divide the raw oysters and the cooked asparagus tips among 6 wide, shallow soup bowls. If you find the soup too thick, add some oyster liquor to thin it. Strain the soup, bring it to a boil, add the Pernod, and turn off heat. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter with a whisk. Season to taste and pour immediately over the oysters and asparagus in the soup bowls, keeping the oysters just above the surface of the veloute. Garnish with fresh tarragon leaves, if available.
• As an appetizer: The best way to use this recipe, we feel. A great start to a late-winter/early-spring dinner that leads, perhaps, into a roast leg of lamb. A wonderful way to serve it is to place the bowls before your guests, with the oysters and asparagus already set in them. Then, bring a tureen to the table and ladle the veloute over all.
• As a main course: If you simply increase the amount of oysters and asparagus-say 8 per person rather than 4-you'll have a light but filling main-course soup. Serve warmed French bread with it, and a light frilly salad tossed with fresh goat cheese.

CHICKEN VELOUTE WITH ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Put the margarine in a large saucepan over medium heat.
• When the margarine melts, add the asparagus from one can only, discarding the juice.
• Then add the flour, mix with a wooden spoon and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Gradually add the hot chicken stock, whisking constantly.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, bring to a boil and continue to cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
• Remove from the stove and strain the chicken veloute through a sieve.
• Dice the asparagus from the second can, place it in the chicken soup, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.