If you have been tucking into asparagus this week, you may have noticed a certain side-effect — to put it frankly, your urine will smell. This is because asparagus contains the amino acid methionine, which contains sulphur, leading to a faint trace of rotten-egg syndrome.

Another effect is that oaky chardonnays will suddenly taste spectacularly bad. Wine writers despair of asparagus, which can make even the finest wine taste acidic and thin. One option is not to drink; another is to stock up on sauvignon blanc — the acidity and lack of oak makes it reasonably asparagus-friendly.

Fortunately, asparagus is extremely good for us in other ways. It contains no fat, cholesterol or sodium and is rich in vitamin C, folic acid, iron and potassium. It is, however, one of the foods, along with organ meats and seafood, that can aggravate uric acid levels, so it should be eaten in moderation by those who suffer from gout.

As much as I love eating the tender, grassy spears as nature intended, dipping them in rich olive oil or butter with my fingers, asparagus also takes kindly to being puréed into soups, becoming almost velvety in the process.

It also teams quite magically with springtime crustaceans such as crab, hence the little crab toasts on the side.

Ingredients
Serves 4

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 30 min

1kg thick asparagus
1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
250g podded green peas
Sea salt and pepper
2tbsp flat parsley leaves
8 slices baguette or ciabatta
150g fresh, picked
crab meat
1tbsp mayonnaise
1tbsp lemon juice
Sea salt and black pepper

METHOD

Wash the asparagus, cut off and discard the woody ends and chop the stalks, reserving the tips for serving.

Bring the chicken or vegetable stock to the boil, add the asparagus and green peas and simmer for 15 minutes until soft. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the soup into the blender or food processor in batches and blitz it until smooth. Add the parsley leaves and purée them too for extra colour and freshness.

Toast the sliced baguette or ciabatta on both sides. Mix the crab meat with the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper and spread on the toasts.

Gently reheat the soup with the asparagus tips for about five minutes (add a spoonful of cream if you like, although I don’t think it needs it), and serve in four warmed soup bowls, with the crab toasts to the side.

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