Asparagus Soup with Chorizo Beignets

Serves 4

I am all about celebrating seasonal ingredients, meaning when theres a glut of something I try to use it in as many ways as I can. This is quite a classic style of soup but that really showcases the delicate flavour of asparagus. Beignets are little fried morsels of a a choux like pastry, they made a great canapé but also add a little flair to this dish.

Ingredient:

Soup-

2 tbsp oil or butter

1 white onion

1 small leek

1 floury potato (such as Maris piper) peeled and diced

200ml white wine

2 bay leaves

750ml vegetable stock

100g baby spinach

250g asparagus, chopped to inch long pieces

Beignets-

150ml

50g cheddar

75g chorizo

50g butter

1 tsp sugar

75g gluten free flour

2 eggs

Seasoning

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Start by making the beignets. Finely cube the chorizo and lightly fry for a few minutes on a medium heat and then set aside, you don't want them to go crispy.

2. In a medium pan, bring the butter, sugar and water to a boil and then add the flour and beat briskly for a couple of minutes to combine into a smooth paste. Remove from the heat and add in the chorizo, cheddar and seasoning. Whisk and add the eggs to the mixture and beat again until is all combined. Either set aside in a clean covered bowl or I like to put it in a piping bag ready to fry.

3. For the soup, put a large pan on a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil or butter. Chop the onion and leek and add to the pan. Cook the veg down for 5 minutes until softened, stirring often to stop it catching. Add the potato and bay leaves and cook again for 5 minutes. Now add the white wine and allow it to reduce by half, followed by the stock. Bring the pan to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer for 20 minutes to cook the potato.

4. Put a frying pan on a medium high heat and add the rest of the oil. When hot add the asparagus and fry off for between 5 and 10 minutes until softened. Add the spinach to the soup pan and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and tip the asparagus into the pan, reserving a few of the tops to decorate the soup if you'd like. I blitz my soup in my NutriBullet as it gets it smoother, but if you do that, I'd recommend letting it cool quite a bit as they aren't always made for hot liquids so a vacuum can be created. If you don't want to do that, use a stick blender to get it as smooth as possible.

5. Fill a saucepan one third full with oil and heat until it a small piece of bread sizzles and goes crisp in around a minute. To cook the beignets, either cut the end off the piping bag and gently squeeze it above the hot oil, pinching it off after about an inch of batter. If you aren't using a piping bag, use two tablespoons to roughly quenelle a spoon of the mix into the oil. Repeat for the rest of the mixture, working in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. They will take between 3 and 5 to fry and puff up a little. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

6. Warm through the soup, you can add a splash of cream if you like but I don't find it necessary, ladle it into bowls and top with the reserved asparagus tips, a trickle of good olive oil and the beignets on the side.