Ate asparagus? Make soup from the trimmings

Do you really think asparagus peels and ends belong in the bin? I don’t think so! You can make an incredibly delicious soup from them.

You bought the most beautiful asparagus and prepared the most delicious dishes with them, but your asparagus feast doesn’t end there: you can make soup from the waste (the peels and ends).

Stock

There are several ways to do this: you can bundle the peels and make stock from them, then cook the asparagus in it, as in this recipe from De Librije.

Purée

Or you can do it like award-winning asparagus chef Jan-Chris Krabbendam: “We cut off the last two centimetres of the asparagus. But we don’t throw them away—we use them for the soup. You can also use the peels, but I often find them a little bitter, so I prefer to discard them. You boil the ends, purée them, pass them through a sieve—otherwise the soup becomes too fibrous—and then add your other flavourings, such as cream, garlic and onion.”

Also read:

• Buying asparagus: what to look out for
• Asparagus: how to make it taste its best
• Is asparagus tasteless this year?
• How to eat asparagus almost all year round