Asparagus Soup with Soft Poached Egg, Croûtons & Black Truffle
Perfect for the springtime, the vivid green of this soup sings of the bounty of the spring harvest and was inspired by a little food blogger outing i participated in this week-end. There were no asparagus involved but it’s the myriad of other seasonal delicacies we went out to forage ourselves that made me realize spring is finally here. You can read all about Forage & Feast here.
The beauty of this dish is in its luxurious simplicity. The asparagus soup is simply pureéd till it’s silky smooth, the rest is just delicious frou-frou. A soft poached egg in the middle, some chopped black truffle, a few drops of truffle oil, buttered croutons, fleur de sel and fresh tarragon leaves are enough to turn this into a first course that’s sure to make your guests very happy. If they don’t react to this? … Change dining companions.
Do you want to know what’s the best part about this soup?
The joy of digging into the soft poached egg with a spoon to let the glorious yolk escape and melt into the soup. No, don’t rub your eyes. This is really happening. Take a deep breath now. It’s gonna be okay..
Happy Spring to all of you in the North Hemisphere! (er.. sorry if you happen to live in the south.)
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Asparagus Soup with Soft Poached Egg & Black Truffle
- serves 4
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Asparagus soup recipe:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion, finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- salt to taste
- 1 pound asparagus (separate the stems and slice the rest)
- 3 fingerling potatoes, peeled and sliced
- 2 sprigs tarragon
- 1 quarts chicken stock
- 1-2 tablespoons creme fraiche
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Garnishes:
- Croutons
- Black truffle (optional)
- Truffle oil
- Tarragon leaves
- 4 eggs
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
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For the asparagus soup:
- Heat the oil and butter in a medium pot over medium heat, add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook gently for five minutes until the onion has softened. Add the garlic and tarragon, stir together for a minute, then add the potatoes, asparagus stems and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the asparagus stems and add the chopped asparagus and simmer until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the creme fraiche and blend the soup until silky smooth, strain and cool rapidly over an ice bath.
- Boil water in a wide stockpot and add the vinegar. When it comes to a simmer, break the eggs one by one and poach them for 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Meanwhile heat the asparagus soup.
- Pour the soup in four soup bowls, top each one with a poached egg. Add croutons, chopped truffle (if using), a drizzle of truffle oil, and tarragon leaves. Serve immediately.
To serve:
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April 20th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Okay you just made my asparagus soup that I made the other night …. so ordinary! This is insanely delicious! I am so making it!!!
April 21st, 2010 at 12:10 am
That green could not be more beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:20 am
What an interesting way of adding egg to soup. There’s egg drop soup but never a poached egg to break in the soup. I love egg in any shape or form so wondering how the egg adds to flavor and texture of soup? Will have to try.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:44 am
gorgeous colors..looks more like art!
April 21st, 2010 at 6:41 am
Simple elements (well maybe not truffle) but combined in such an elegant and beautiful way. It’s like an artist’s palette of color.
April 21st, 2010 at 8:20 am
this is the first time i’ve wanted to eat my laptop screen. amazing.
April 21st, 2010 at 8:37 am
So…, Zen can really cook!
Work of art, great color and shape composition. Judging from the chosen ingredients it’s got to taste delicious!
April 21st, 2010 at 9:17 am
Perfectly poached egg in a delicious soup!
blowing peachkisses
The Peach Kitchen
peach and things
April 21st, 2010 at 9:28 am
I am awake, I am awake! Drool pooling on keyboard at 0830. Delivery to Duluth, MN? Please
April 21st, 2010 at 9:30 am
Sheer and absolute beauty! Oh, and I bet beyond tasty!
April 21st, 2010 at 9:31 am
That looks simply decadent! I think I need this soup in my life…immediately…
April 21st, 2010 at 10:17 am
Delicious- simple and beautiful!
April 21st, 2010 at 11:05 am
This is simply beautiful.
I keep looking at the photograph.
I will make it tonight, but will I plate it like you?
doubtful.
my egg will run all over the place, for sure.
April 21st, 2010 at 11:15 am
A gorgeous vibrant green color! I love the addition of poached egg and black truffle!
April 21st, 2010 at 11:43 am
Your soup is beautious! The colors are striking and I imagine the flavors are as well.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Gorgeous! Mmmmmm can taste the oozy egg with truffles and asparagus.
April 21st, 2010 at 2:14 pm
This looks incredible! Such vibrant colors. I’ve yet to taste the first asparagus of spring. Perhaps your idea of soup will be great. Happy Spring!
Magda
April 21st, 2010 at 5:32 pm
That’s quite the presentation, beautiful!
April 21st, 2010 at 6:26 pm
stunning! and i love asparagus soup but have never had it with a poached egg – will be making this very, very soon!
April 21st, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Amazing presentation! I miss asparagus!
April 21st, 2010 at 7:01 pm
I have been trying to come up with a new way to prepare asparagus. This recipe is delightful.
April 21st, 2010 at 9:43 pm
This soup sounds glorious! And that event sounds like so much fun. I love the color and all the ways in which you dolled it up.
April 21st, 2010 at 9:47 pm
I’ve had poached egg in pumpkin soup and it was delish… but asparagus sounds like a brilliant new twist!
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:56 am
What a great way to present this dish. I love soft poached egg. Simply gorgeous!
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:04 am
Hey, I live in the Northern Hemisphere but we don’t have spring in the tropics, hehe
Anyway, I love the golden river flowing into the, uh, chartreuse sea. Even the frou-frou looks amazing.
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:43 am
this is sex in a plate. Check out that runny egg bleeding into the asparagus soup. I want this. How beautiful and decadent.
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:51 am
I’m drooling! This has all my favorite things; Asparagus, truffles, tarragon and OMG RUNNY EGG! And the fact that it’s a soup…LOVE!
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:16 am
Wow, SICK.
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:16 am
Looks like art. Congrats on the beautiful soup, and perfectly baked egg.
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:43 pm
This soup is the most beautiful shade of green, a real celebration of Spring.
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:11 pm
WOW! This looks amazing. I’m very impressed. It give off the ultimate spring feel.
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Love it! I want to make this and pack it in my lunch pronto (although the egg part might be difficult). Love the garnishes. Takes this soup a bit beyond typical asparagus soup. I love your color too. My green soups always come out a bit barf-colored.
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Oh. my. god. How you make something like asparagus soup look so good I truly do not know. Love the poached egg, such a perfect partner to the soup!
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Two very random questions:
1) Where can I find a bowl like this? I just love them.
2) Can I marry you?
(Just joking about that last one…sort of.)
April 23rd, 2010 at 11:40 am
Striking composition with very appealing ingredients captured at just the right moment, congratulations on an incredible post.
April 26th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
I need to live next to you if you have black truffle handy in your kitchen all the time. Hah!
April 27th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
i always say that you add an egg to any dish and it’ll look good, but this dish doesn’t even need the egg. the color! the truffle! those things dotting the perimeter of the bowl! how beautiful.
April 30th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
[...] the fridge dish… a few days ago I made an asparagus soup (inspired by the much more amazing Zenchef Asparagus Soup). It was good but then today, I decided to add some orzo, olive oil and parmesan… [...]
May 3rd, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Any guidelines on getting that amazing green color? Here’s my attempt which was highly enjoyable using a sousvide herb infused egg – just lacking in the vibrant color. Thanks!
May 3rd, 2010 at 9:48 pm
David — A few tips to get a vibrant green color:
- i use pencil thin asparagus.
- i boil the stock mixture first without them, then i blanch them in in until just cooked and cool them in an ice bath.
- i chill the asparagus and the stock separately before blending them together.
Those steps will set the green color. Leaving the asparagus cool in the stock will turn them a grayish color.
May 6th, 2010 at 4:13 am
Love the jade green colour of your soup and thanks for sharing the tips on keeping it green… Did you see the green pea soup which Alice&Jared had at Curtis Duffy? That is one amazing green as well…
July 24th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
I stumbled across your site, and think it’s fantastic, keep us posting
May 16th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
What a nice presentation is this! The recipe sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
July 18th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
incredibly nice post Thank you.
July 18th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
thanks for sharing. your site is very interesting!
July 18th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
I like your post.