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1
Trim the hard, woody ends of the fresh asparagus and cut into about 1 inch pieces.
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2
Soften 8 or 9 cloves garlic in 4 tablespoons of water for 5 minutes.
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3
Melt the butter in a flame proof dish .
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4
Add asparagus and saute for about 6 minutes .
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5
Do not fry or brown .
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6
Add the stock, the softened garlic with water, and any canning juices if using canned asparagus.
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7
Skim if necessary.
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8
Simmer for about 5 minutes .
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9
Remove twelve of the fresh asparagus tips.
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10
Season the soup with salt, pepper and the wild garlic.
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11
Continue cooking for about 20 minutes if using fresh asparagus.
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12
If using canned cook for about ten minutes
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13
Puree the soup in a blender until very smooth.
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14
Return into pan over low heat .You can now thicken the soup with cornflour if you like it to be a thicker soup.
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15
Do this by blending the cornflour with the 1 1/2 tablespoon of water .Whisk this into the simmering soup to thicken it.
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16
You can now add the cream if using it.
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17
Heat the olive oil , cut the remain garlic into very thin slices.
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18
Add the chilli flakes to oil and the garlic and heat gently until garlic starts to just brown on the edges.
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19
Add the prawns and heat through for a few minutes .
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20
No longer as they will turn rubbery as they are cooked already.
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21
Put the soup into warmed plates and garnish with the prawns, asparagus tips and the chilly and garlic oil.
