Name: Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8 Servings
Ingredients: Olive oil: 2 tbsp; Leek: 2; Garlic: 2 cloves; Jerusalem Artichoke: 1kg/ 2¼ lbs; Potatoes: 2 medium; chicken stock: 1 Litre/ 2 pints; Thyme: 2 tbsp chopped; White Pepper: 1 tsp; Salt: 1 tbsp; Heavy Cream: 60 ml/ 2 fl oz; nutmeg: 1 tsp; Olive oil: for sprinkle; Sour Cream: 1 tbsp

Features:

Cuisine:

International

Ingredients

2 tbsp Olive oil
2 Leek
only th ewhite part
2 cloves Garlic
1kg/ 2¼ lbs Jerusalem Artichoke
peeled and sliced
2 medium Potatoes
peeled and sliced
1 Litre/ 2 pints chicken stock
can be vegetable stock or plain water if you want to keep this vegan
2 tbsp chopped Thyme
1 tsp White Pepper
ground
1 tbsp Salt
60 ml/ 2 fl oz Heavy Cream
1 tsp nutmeg
For serving
for sprinkle Olive oil
1 tbsp Sour Cream
optional

Directions

Whenever I’m looking for a fool meal in a soup I come back to the Jerusalem artichoke soup, it’s a satisfying comforting dish which I can never get enough of.

The season of the Jerusalem artichoke is not long, it’s usually from October to April. In fall-winter time, the taste and size of the artichoke are at its peak.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup – history first

the name, “Jerusalem artichoke” is deceiving since this root does not come from Jerusalem (or related artichokes…) at all.

As far as we know, it was first cultivated in north America by native Americans. Later on around the 1600’s, Italian settlers used the name of girasole for this root and brought it to Italy. The name girasole corresponds to “turning toward the sun” and we believe the name Jerusalem evolved from girasole. “Artichoke” came later on because of its texture and taste that resembled artichoke (I don’t share that opinion but how can you argue with history).

Cooking the soup

This soup is creamy and thick however we don’t want it to be porridge like texture. We want it to be have a rich runny texture with a solid body, after all it is a soup.

When I make the Jerusalem artichoke soup I add about 2 small potatoes. The reason is that I want the potatoes starch and rich texture, it’s not a must but highly recommended

I also use leeks instead of onions, I find the leeks much more delicate and suitable for this kind of soup, we want to preserve the earthy flavor of the Jerusalem artichoke and not overpower it with onions.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

The flavor enhancers I use are chicken stock and nutmeg. Both are strong taste boosters and in a soup that has a very mild taste its necessary to bring it to the next level.

You can use water instead of the chicken stock to give the soup a more neutral flavor or vegetable stock if you want to keep the soup vegetarian.

Cream is added only in a small proportion. It gives the soup the final creamy touch that it needs and surprising as it sounds also make the soup lighter.

This soup is a full meal, perfect for the cold winter nights. It’s a great meal that will leave you satisfied but will not make you heavy.

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Steps

1 Done 40-60 minutes	Making the soup Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and leeks, cook for 3 minutes, add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, Jerusalem artichoke, potatoes, thyme and gently bring into a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook for a minimum of 30 minutes with the lid on, I recommend cooking the soup for 1 hour to combine flavors well. Season with white pepper and cook for another 5 minutes.
2 Done 15 minutes	Blending the soup Blend the soup with a hand blender or in a food processor into a fine paste. Pour the cream, season with nutmeg and cook for another 10 minutes on low heat.
3 Done	serving Pour the soup into a bowl, ad the sour cream and sprinkle with olive oil. serve immediately.