Servings:

Serves two - generously

Level of difficulty:

Easy

Ingredients

A bunch of asparagus - enough to hold on one hand.
A large fat onion.
Vegetable stock or stock powder
A grapefruit.
Olive oil
Seasoning

Method

Firstly, peel the onion and dice it into small pieces. You want this to soften fast, as asparagus is very soft itself.

Next chop the asparagus into lengths of an inch or two, discarding the end inch of the spear.

Pop the onion into a large saucepan or stockpot, add a dash of olive oil, and put over a medium heat until the onion softens but does not cook or blacken. Keep stirring, don't let it stick. Then add the asparagus and immediately add enough stock to cover the asparagus - just.

Bring it to the boil, then let it simmer until the asparagus is soft and is starting to look and feel (under your knife) softer than it would be if you were to pick it up and eat it.

Take off the heat. With a hand blender, blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. If it is too thick for your liking, add a little more water.

Next squeeze your grapefruit and add half the juice. Taste it: if you get the taste of asparagus then a fresh jolt of grapefruit you have it right. Add more juice as you see fit.

Put it back on a very low heat to let it mingle with itself. After about ten minutes it should be perfect. Serve immediately. This goes well with some Italian bread, with olives or sun dried tomatoes, or a good sturdy French stick.