From zingy Spanish tomato to silky sweet corn, via rich slow-cooked goat OFM compiles the best soup recipes to make at home
Simon Hopkinson’s asparagus soup
This is an extravagant indulgence. Although I have tried (and succeeded) to make asparagus soup with all the trimmings, peelings and off-cuts, it always ends up tasting a little bit like tinned soup. (I can only presume that this is because that is exactly what the manufacturers do.) This recipe, however, uses a nice, trimmed-up bunch of fresh asparagus, and not much else. If you can come by the asparagus called “sprue” – which is thin and straggly and consequently much cheaper – then this can be used. It sort of goes against the grain to turn the most beautiful of vegetables into a soup, but this simple and very pure recipe transforms it into an elixir.
Serves 4
butter 110g
leeks 4 small (white parts only), trimmed and chopped
water 900ml
potato 1, peeled and chopped
salt and pepper
fresh asparagus 450g, trimmed and peeled
double cream 300ml
Melt the butter and stew the leeks until soft. Add the water and potato, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 15 minutes. Quickly chop the asparagus, and add it to the soup. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Blend thoroughly, then pass through a fine sieve. Add the cream and check the seasoning. This is equally good hot or cold.
From Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson (Ebury, £16.99)
Samin Nosrat’s silky sweet corn soup
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