Polly Eats London

Preparing time: 30 minutes	Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients	Method
1 large white onion roughly chopped 56 g butter	Heat the butter in a large saucepan until foaming. Cook the onion in the butter for 8 minutes until tender. The onion can’t be browned. Set aside.
24 spears fresh green asparagus	Cut off the butt of each asparagus. Peel the skin and remove scales.
	Cut the tops 8 cm long, set them aside. Chop the lower parts of the asparagus stalks into 2,5 cm pieces.
2 l water 2 tsp salt	Add the salt into the water and bring to a rapid boil. Add chopped asparagus stalks and boil slowly uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove and drain. Reserve the blanching water. Stir cooked pieces into the onion, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
	Bring the water to the boil again, add asparagus tops and boil slowly up to 8 minutes. Remove them and drain. Reserve the water, set the tops aside.
4 tbls flour The asparagus blanching water 284 ml semi-skimmed milk, if necessary	Uncover the pan, add the flour. Stir it in and mix thoroughly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and pour a cup of the hot blanching reserved water, carry on stirring. Gradually stir in the rest of the water. Then simmer very slowly for 25 minutes. Keep it partially covered. If the soup is too thick, pour the milk and thin it out.
	Cut off 2,5 cm ends of the blanched asparagus tips. Reserve the tips as a garnish. Pour the ends into the soup and blend together.
2 egg yolks 142 ml double cream salt and pepper to taste	In a bowl mix together two egg yolks and the cream. Beat in one ladle of the hot soup into the mixture, gradually add, ladle by ladle the rest of the soup. Pour the tip ends and correct the seasoning.
	Before serving, pour the soup back into the pan and simmer gently stirring all the time. Serve with croutons or toasted white sandwich bread and the asparagus garnish.