Creamy asparagus soup with salmon and pumpernickel

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg asparagus, white
• 2 liters of water
• 4 sprigs of dill
• 200 g smoked salmon
• 90 g butter
• 2 slices of pumpernickel
• 75 g flour
• 250 g whipped cream
• 1 egg yolk
• lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• Sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 50 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

First, wash and peel the white asparagus, and trim off the woody ends. Bring the asparagus ends and peels to a boil in 2 liters of water with salt and about 1 teaspoon of sugar, then simmer for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, cut the asparagus stalks into bite-sized pieces. Pour the asparagus ends and peels into a sieve, reserving the liquid. You won’t need the asparagus ends and peels for another 10 minutes. Then bring the asparagus stock back to a boil, cover, and cook the asparagus pieces over low heat for about 10 minutes until al dente. In the meantime, wash the dill, shake it dry, pluck the tags from the stalks, and chop finely. Tear apart the smoked salmon and mix it with about 2/3 of the dill. Heat about 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan. Finely crumble the pumpernickel and fry in the hot butter for about 2 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove from the pan and set aside. Pour the asparagus, cooked until al dente, into a sieve, reserving the asparagus stock. Heat approximately 60g of butter in a saucepan, sprinkle with flour, and sauté while stirring. Gradually add the asparagus stock, stirring constantly. Then add 200g of cream, bring to a boil, and simmer for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk the egg yolk and 50g of cream and stir into the hot soup (but do not allow to boil again). Season the soup with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Add the asparagus pieces and heat through. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with salmon, pumpernickel crumbs, and dill.