The Dutch asparagus season traditionally used to run from the end of April to St. John's day (24 June). These days, asparagus is available almost all year round. The queen of vegetables tastes really good in everything, but especially in soup!
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Peel the beetroot and thinly slice with the mandolin. Spread the beetroot slices onto a baking tray covered with baking paper. Roast the slices until crispy, for 12 minutes. Turn halfway through and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
Peel the asparagus (not too thinly) and remove the woody stalk (approx. 3 cm). Cut them into 3 cm pieces. Put the asparagus in 1.5 litres of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Finely chop the onion. Heat the butter in a soup pan and fry the onion for about 3 minutes until translucent. Add the flour. Stir with a whisk to form a roux and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Make sure the roux does not turn brown.
Drain the asparagus and keep 1 litre of the cooking liquid. Add the stock cube to the cooking liquid and stir until dissolved. Gradually add the vegetable stock to the roux while stirring. When the stock has been absorbed, you can add another dash. Finally add the pieces of asparagus. Bring to the boil again and puree until smooth. Pour in the whipping cream, heat through and season with salt and pepper.
Divide the soup between 6 bowls and garnish with the beetroot and a little cress.
Short cut: If you can't be bothered to roast the beetroot, Garnish the soup with ready-made beetroot crisps.
