Trim away the woody base (1-2 cm) of the asparagus.. Trim away the asparagus tips and ser them aside. Roughly chop the rest of the asparagus spears.
Bring 1 litre of water to the boil in a saucepan. Cook the asparagus tips for approx. 2 minutes. Rinse them under cold water and set them aside as a garnish. Save the cooking liquid.
Finely chop the onion. Heat the butter in a pan and fry the onion on a medium heat for 3 minutes until it softens. Add the chopped asparagus and fry for 2 minutes. Pour the cooking liquid into the pan. Add the stock cubes. Simmer the soup on a low heat for 8 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Make 4 mounds of cheese of approx. 3 cm in diameter. Space well apart. Place the baking tray in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 8 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown. Cool the baking tray on a wire rack.
Purée the soup with the hand blender. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper. Divide the soup over 4 bowls. Divide the asparagus tips over the soup Serve the soup with the parmesan crisps.
Prefer vegan? Replace the butter with olive oil and the cream with a plant-based oat or almond alternative. Instead of the cheese crisps, garnish with roughly chopped smoked almonds for a tasty savoury bite.
