Cold Cream of Asparagus Soup with Chicken Bone Broth

A bowl that earns its silence.

There is something deeply satisfying about a cold soup made properly. Not an afterthought, not last night's leftovers thinned out — but something built from the beginning with intention. This cold cream of asparagus is exactly that. Pale green, silky, with a quiet depth that comes entirely from the broth beneath it.

We use our Chicken Bone Broth here. Its lightness complements asparagus without overwhelming it, while the natural gelatin gives the soup a body that water or stock simply cannot replicate. The result is something that feels both restorative and elegant — the kind of thing you make once and then find yourself making again every summer.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 g fresh asparagus, woody ends snapped off
• 500 ml The Broth Bar Chicken Bone Broth
• 1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp good olive oil
• 100 ml crème fraîche or full-fat coconut cream (for a dairy-free version)
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Sea salt and white pepper to taste

To serve: a drizzle of olive oil, a few asparagus tips blanched and chilled, fresh tarragon or chives, a crack of black pepper.

Method

1. Sweat the aromatics. Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook gently for 8–10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
2. Add the asparagus. Cut the asparagus into rough pieces, reserving a few tips for garnish. Add to the pan and stir to coat. Cook for 3–4 minutes.
3. Add the broth. Pour in the Chicken Bone Broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10–12 minutes until the asparagus is completely tender.
4. Blanch the tips. While the soup simmers, blanch the reserved asparagus tips in boiling salted water for 90 seconds, then transfer immediately to ice water. Set aside.
5. Blend. Remove from heat. Add the crème fraîche and lemon juice. Blend until completely smooth — a high-speed blender gives the best result. Taste and adjust seasoning.
6. Chill. Transfer to a bowl or container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. The soup thickens as it cools; loosen with a little extra broth if needed.
7. Serve. Ladle into chilled bowls. Top with the blanched asparagus tips, a thread of olive oil, and fresh herbs.

A note on the broth

The quality of the broth is everything here. Because there are so few ingredients, each one speaks clearly. Our Chicken Bone Broth is slow-simmered for 16 hours from carefully sourced bones, then cloth-filtered and hand-bottled in our certified kitchen in Monda. It carries 21 g of protein per 500 ml serving — and in a soup this simple, you will taste every hour of that simmer.

This soup keeps refrigerated for up to three days. It does not freeze well once blended with cream, but the base — before adding the crème fraîche — freezes beautifully.