Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (5 page)

1)
The onion flavoring

⅔ to ¾ cup sliced onions

4 Tb butter

A 3-quart heavy-bottomed stainless saucepan with cover

While you are preparing the asparagus, cook the onions slowly in the butter for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender but not browned. Set aside.

2)
Preparing the asparagus

About 2 lbs. fresh green asparagus (24 to 28 spears 8 by ¾ inches)

Slice ¼ inch off the butt of each asparagus. Peel the skin from the butt ends up to where the green begins, and remove scales. Wash thoroughly in warm water. Cut the tops 3 inches long and set aside. Cut the lower part of the asparagus stalks into ¾-inch crosswise pieces.

3)
Blanching the asparagus

6 cups water

2 tsp salt

A 3-quart saucepan

A salad or vegetable basket or 2 slotted spoons

Bring the water and salt to a rapid boil, add the asparagus stalks and boil slowly, uncovered, for 5
minutes. Remove and drain, reserving the water, and stir the stalks into the cooked onions; cover and cook slowly for 5 minutes. Meanwhile bring the water back to the boil, add the reserved
asparagus tops and boil slowly, uncovered, for 6 to 8 minutes or until just tender. Remove immediately and drain. Set aside, reserving water for the soup base.

4)
The soup base

4 Tb flour

The asparagus blanching water

1 cup or so of milk if needed

After the stalks and onions have stewed together for 5 minutes, uncover the pan, stir in the flour to mix thoroughly, and cook slowly, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and blend in half a cup of the hot blanching water; gradually stir in the rest, being sure not to add any sand that may be at the bottom of the pan. Simmer slowly, partially covered, for about 25 minutes or until the stalks are very tender. If soup seems too thick, thin out with milk.

5)
Finishing the soup

The blanched asparagus tops

A food mill with medium disk (or an electric blender and sieve)

A 3-quart bowl

½ to ⅔ cup heavy cream

2 to 3 egg yolks

A wire whip

Salt and white pepper to taste

Line up the blanched asparagus tops and cut the tip ends into ¼-inch crosswise slices; reserve as a garnish. Purée the rest of the tops and the soup base into a bowl. (Pass soup through sieve to remove any fibers, if you have used a blender.) Pour the cream into the saucepan, blend in the egg yolks with a wire whip; by driblets, beat in 2 cups of the hot soup. Pour in the rest of the soup, and the sliced tip ends.

(*) May be cooked ahead to this point; set aside uncovered until cool, then cover and refrigerate.

2 to 4 Tb soft butter

Shortly before serving, set over moderate heat and stir slowly with a wooden spoon, reaching all over the bottom of the pan until soup comes almost to the simmer. Remove from heat, carefully correct seasoning, and stir in the enrichment butter half a tablespoon at a time. Serve immediately.

Cold Asparagus Soup

Omit the final butter enrichment and oversalt slightly. Stir several times as the soup cools, then cover and chill. Blend in more cream, if you wish, just before serving.

Using frozen asparagus

Frozen asparagus can never achieve the magic of fresh asparagus, but you can still turn out an excellent soup. Follow the Master Recipe, making the changes in each step as indicated.

1) Increase the sliced onions to 2¼ cups in this step, or use a combination of onions and leeks.

2) A 10-ounce package frozen cut green asparagus

A 10-ounce package whole frozen green asparagus spears

Use the cut asparagus to replace the stalks and the whole spears to replace the tops.

3) 2 cups chicken stock

Optional: big pinch of monosodium glutamate

Substitute 2 cups of chicken stock for 2 cups of the water called for in this step, and a little
MSG
will probably be useful. Drop the cut asparagus into the boiling liquid for a minute or two, merely to defrost them, then add to the onions. Boil the whole spears until just tender.

4 and 5) Follow Master Recipe