Chicken Asparagus Soup

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 1 stalk leek
• 3 Carrots
• 250 g celery root
• 1 handful mushrooms
• 1 soup chicken (ca. 1.4 kg)
• 1 tsp white peppercorns
• 3 cloves of mace
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 2 stems Parsley
• 3 eggs
• 60 ml whipping cream
• Salt
• pepper (from the mill)
• soft butter (for the pan)
• 2 carrots
• 1 piece leek (6–7 cm)
• 250 g white asparagus
• parsley (for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel the onion and cut it horizontally in half. Place the cut sides down in a large pot and brown them darkly over high heat.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile wash, clean and peel the leek, carrots, celery root and mushrooms. Cut the leek, carrots and celery into large pieces. Thoroughly rinse the chicken.

3. 3.

   Pour about 2 l of cold water into the pot. Add the chicken with the prepared vegetables, mushrooms, spices and herbs and let it simmer gently for about 2.5 hours just below boiling point, skimming foam as needed and adding water to keep the chicken almost covered.

4. 4.

   For the egg custard whisk the eggs with cream, salt and pepper. Grease a shallow square baking dish and pour in the egg mixture. Place the dish in a wide pot and pour hot water over it until the dish is 2/3 submerged. Cover with foil and steam for about 20 minutes on gentle heat. Remove to cool, then cut into cubes.

5. 5.

   Peel the carrots and slice them into long thin strips. Wash, clean and slice the leek into fine strips as well. Peel the asparagus, halve lengthwise and cut into 4–5 cm pieces.

6. 6.

   Remove the chicken from the pot (use it further if desired) and strain the broth through a fine cloth-lined sieve. Return to the pot, bring to boil, season with salt and pepper, add the asparagus and simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and cook together for another 2 minutes. Finish by adding the egg custard and tasting.

7. 7.

   Serve the soup in bowls and garnish with parsley.