Asparagus Soup with Parmesan Custard

5 from 1 vote

Rich but light and not short on flavour!

Prep Time25

Cook Time40

Total Time1 5

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 396kcal

1 ¼ cups finely grated Parmesan about 2 ½ ounces. I used the Kraft commercially ground parmesan for this.
1 cup evaporated milk
3 eggs
⅛ teaspoon salt

Combine parmesan and milk in a saucepan and just bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and allow to steep about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300° F. Spray ramekins with cooking spray.
Beat eggs, salt and pepper til well blended. Add steeped milk and continue to beat until well blended.
Divide mixture evenly between 6 ramekins. Add water to a baking pan large enough to hold the 6 ramekins. Set ramekins in the pan. Water should come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in the middle of the oven until centers come clean on a knife blade about 45 minutes. (Make soup while ramekins bake. You want the soup to be finished first so it can keep warm until the custards are done.)
Transfer ramekins to a rack to cool. After 5 minutes run a knife gently around the outside of the custard and invert to the center of a shallow soup bowl. Do not let the ramekins sit for more than 5 minutes or they will not release from the ramekin.

While the custards are baking, cut the leek length-wise and fan the layers under cold water to clean. Drain and finely chop.
Melt butter in saucepan large enough to hold finished soup. Add leeks, shallots, salt and pepper and sauté about 3 minutes till leek softens.
Add the asparagus, broth and evaporated milk. Simmer covered for 12 minutes. Remove 6 tips about 4 minutes in to the simmering and reserve for garnish.
Purée soup in blender until smoother. (In batches if necessary). Return purée to the pot and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Keep it warm over low heat until ready to serve.

Ladle soup into shallow soup bowls around custards. Garnish with reserved asparagus tips and freshly grated parmesan if desired.