Now for those stalks!  It seems such a shame to me to just throw them away when someone has taken the time and trouble to grow such a fabulous vegetable.  If I'm not ready to use them in either soup or stock straight away I just bung them in the freezer.
Here’s my recipe for a soup which is a delight on the palette. If you can’t bear chilli just leave it out.

Asparagus soup with a hint of chilli and parmesan and pepper croutons
Serves 4

Ingredients
Asparagus stalks from 2 bunches
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped
¾  litre chicken or vegetable stock
½ teaspoon chilli flakes or 1 small chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
Small pot crème fraiche
Olive oil
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Stale bread, cut into small chunks
20 gr grated parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and add the stalks and chilli. Sauté  for about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and sauté for a further 4 minutes.

Add the chicken/vegetable stock and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the potato and asparagus is soft.

Whizz up in a blender until really smooth. Put back in saucepan and add the crème fraiche. Stir well and heat but don’t boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste

To make the parmesan croutons: Place the  chunks of stale bread into a bowl and pour over some olive oil. With your hands make sure each piece of bread is covered with the oil. Then put in the parmesan and freshly ground pepper and, again, mix it with your hands

Pour into a pre-heated frying pan and fry until light brown and crispy

To serve the soup, make sure it’s lovely and hot, pour into bowls, sprinkle the croutons and some parsley over and then drizzle some olive oil on to the soup for that extra je ne sais quoi!

Cook’s tip: If you have some croutons left over they do freeze really well​