Asparagus Soup With Poached Egg

~ Tandy
Head straight on to the recipe for Asparagus Soup With Poached Egg And A Rarebit Croûton ♥

I open the mystery box with anticipation, wondering what perishable ingredients have been sent to us? I see a loaf of Blue Ribbon Toaster White Bread, cream, eggs, spring onions, cheese and asparagus. my first thought is to make eggs en cocotte but I quickly change my mind and make asparagus soup with poached egg and a rarebit croûton.

Best Thing With Sliced Bread Starter Ingredients
Best Thing With Sliced Bread Starter Ingredients

For round one of the Best Thing With Sliced Bread competition I was videoed. This was an amazing experience for so many reasons. The setting up takes an amazingly long time and the glass in my back door needed to be covered. Of course, as soon as it was covered Justin told me that he needed an extension cord, and that was in the house. The glass was covered with the throw from my bed, and a piece of material I have used for some of my photographs. The windows all had to be closed as the wind was blowing. This would not have been a problem on a cooler day, but it was stifling hot in the cottage. Thankfully the fan could be kept on. I had to change into a pair of pants with pockets so that the microphone could be attached to me. While the lights and cameras were being set up I tried to get as much ready for my recipe as I could. Justin was on a tight schedule and had to be packed up and in his car to leave for the airport by 18h30 at the latest. Filming eventually started at 15h30 and the first part was easy. I am a natural! Really, I talked my way through what I was doing, working as fast and as efficiently as I normally do. I had done a dry run of the asparagus soup on Sunday afternoon for the timing, and the eggs and rarebit were made on Saturday and Sunday morning for breakfast. But, filming is not so simple. You cannot look at the camera! I had to answer questions and go over my responses a few times. Pretending I had not seen inside the mystery box was not too difficult, but as I had done the recipe a few times to make sure all the components worked, the ingredients were depleted and I did not want that to come through on the video. The hardest part was recording the audio after I had done the physical part of the recipe, i.e. the chopping and stirring. I cannot talk in the present tense after I have done something, and my original takes had far more tit bits and helpful hints in them. And then there is continuity. You stop and start and the spoon and pot has to be in the same place and nothing can be changed. I had to make a few of the steps more than once to get close up shots. And then of course while all this was taking place, the asparagus spent far too much time on the heat and in the water and was not the vibrant green colour I would have liked, and what I managed to achieve the day before. The end result was a great tasting asparagus soup, with a perfectly runny yolk poached egg, crispy toast with a cheesy topping, and the addition of fresh thyme made it perfect. I totally loved the experience and would not mind doing a few live demonstrations knowing that I can actually cook and talk at the same time. Have you ever been in front of a camera for filming?

Asparagus Soup
Asparagus Soup

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4.88 from 8 votes

Asparagus Soup With Poached Egg And A Rarebit Croûton

This dish is the perfect Sunday dinner when you feel like comfort food that is slightly fancy
Recipe Category: Soup
All Rights Reserved: an original recipe from Lavender and Lime

Ingredients

for the soup

  • 100 g asparagus, tips set aside, stalks sliced
  • 10 mls canola oil divided
  • 3 spring onions, white part only, finely sliced, reserve the green top from one
  • 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 125 mls water
  • 1 stalk tarragon, leaved picked
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

for the croûton

  • 50 g mozzarella cheese, grated
  • 15 mls cream
  • the reserved greens from the spring onion
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1 slice bread, lightly toasted

for the poached egg

  • canola oil for greasing
  • 1 egg
  • flaked salt
  • 1 sprig thyme, leaved picked

Method

  • Bring a large pot of water to the boil
  • Blanch the asparagus tips
  • Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in ice water and drain
  • Reserve the water for your poached egg

for the soup

  • Place 5mls of the canola oil into a saucepan
  • Sauté the greens from the spring onion until soft
  • Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside
  • Place the rest of the oil into the pan
  • Sauté the whites from the spring onions until soft
  • Add the stalks of the asparagus, the garlic and the bay leaves
  • Sauté until you can smell the garlic
  • Add the water and tarragon and bring to a boil
  • Season to taste
  • Place the lid on the pan, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 10 minutes
  • Remove from the heat and purée using a stick blender
  • Pass through a chinois and return to the pan to keep warm
  • Adjust the seasoning before serving

for the croûton

  • Turn the grill element of your oven on
  • Place the cheese and the cream into a sauce pan
  • Place onto a medium temperature and stir until the cheese melts
  • Stir in the spring onion green and the cayenne
  • Place onto the toast
  • Place the toast under a grill for 5 minutes
  • Cut a circle using a cutter

for the poached egg

  • Lightly grease a poaching pod
  • Carefully crack the egg into the pod
  • Carefully place the pod into the boiling water
  • Place the lid on the pan and poach for 3 minutes
  • Remove the pod from the water and carefully remove the egg
  • Season with flaked salt

to assemble

  • Place the croûton into a bowl
  • Place the egg on top of the croûton
  • Scatter the asparagus tips around the bowl
  • Pour the soup over the asparagus tips
  • Garnish with fresh thyme

Notes

I used Blue Ribbon Toaster White Bread

Click on the links for conversions and notes.

Asparagus Soup With Poached Egg And A Rarebit Croûton
Asparagus Soup With Poached Egg And A Rarebit Croûton

Disclosure: I was invited to take part in this competition by Nicole Ferger from Gullan&Gullan. The ingredients were provided to me and the allowed pantry items of spices, herbs and oil were used for this recipe. By entering I stand a chance of winning a gift voucher from Yuppiechef.  This post is in line with my blogging policy.

What I blogged February 11:

Lavender and Lime Signature

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Published by Tandy

I am passionate about using regional, seasonable and sustainable produce when I cook. I live in Gordons Bay with my husband and dogs. We visit new places locally and overseas as often as we can to experience the food of the area. Follow along on our adventures!

54 thoughts on “Asparagus Soup With Poached Egg”

  4. Hi Tandy, wow! what a great experience. No, I have never achieved anything like that but sounds like you are a real pro. Your soup sounds delicious too, good for you!!!!

    Reply

  8. What an amazing experience to be filmed cooking this dish. There is so much more involved isn’t there. I remember reading about the filming of Masterchef, and it took forever and things melt because of lights. Well done for this.

    Reply

  9. What a fun experience, totally different with a camera. And love the soup recipe, looks tasty. I have not cooked in front of the camera but did do a tv segment once where I was filmed at home and in a store.

    Reply

  12. The last time I was in front of a camera was in high school and these days I am deathly scared to do so so kudos, Tandy! I would love to see your video debut!
    Speaking of love – wow – you did a fantastic job with this asparagus soup!

    Reply

  20. This is so classy and so flavorful! Wonderful recipe and flavor combinations, Tandy! 😀

    Reply

  22. Oh my gosh! Tandy! This looks perfect! I love soup… so warm and filling on a chilly afternoon. Just perfect. Also, I love that you added an egg on top! such a great way to get in some nourishing protein! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  23. Still, the colour of the soup seems very vibrant. A clever recipe with the ingredients you were provided. I always say I’d be rubbish at a mystery box. Not so much that I couldn’t create a recipe but when you see these type of thing on TV, you normally only have 30 minutes. I need to ponder before I make. I hope you win!

    Reply

  24. Oh wow, this one looks phenomenal. I absolutely love asparagus soup and your rendition with the poached egg has my mouth watering…

    Reply
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