Asparagus soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg asparagus (preferably broken or class III)
• 500 g potatoes
• 2 packets of vanilla sugar
• 1 ½ liters vegetable broth
• some salt and pepper
• some lemon juice
• ½ tsp butter (truffle butter), if available

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

Peel the asparagus and trim the ends. Place the peels and trimmings in a small pot with water, salt, lemon juice, and 1 packet of vanilla sugar, and bring to a boil. Cut the asparagus spears into thin slices – stop just before the heads, as the heads go whole into the soup. The thinner the slices, the more delicate the soup will be. If you leave the slices too thick, you’ll end up with unsightly fibers in the soup, so it’s worth investing more time and effort here; it’s worth it. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces. If you like, you can cook some of the diced potatoes in a sieve over the asparagus stock and add them to the soup along with the heads as a garnish. Add the remaining diced potatoes to a large pot with the asparagus slices. Place the asparagus slices, the diced potatoes, and a packet of vanilla sugar in the vegetable broth and simmer. If you like, you can add a little salt at this point, depending on how strong the vegetable stock is; a squeeze of lemon doesn’t hurt either. The asparagus stock from the beginning is still simmering peacefully on the stove. Finely purée the asparagus slices and potato cubes with a hand blender. Add the pre-cooked potato pieces and asparagus heads to the soup until they’re cooked through, then strain the asparagus stock and add it to the soup as well. If the consistency is still too thick, you can add more vegetable stock until the consistency is right. Now season to taste! I recommend salt and pepper; if you like, you can also add half a teaspoon (or a little more) of truffle butter to the soup, but it tastes good without it too.