Creamy Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
Submitted by jnhgirl
Cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup: sunchokes sweat with leek and carrot in butter, simmered with chicken stock, then pureed silky-smooth with cream. Earthy, nutty, French-bistro elegant.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
55 minREADY
1 hrsJerusalem artichokes (also called sunchokes) are the unsung knobby tubers of fall cooking. Their flavor is sweet and nutty, somewhere between artichoke hearts and water chestnuts, and they melt into the silkiest puree of any root vegetable when given a long, gentle braise with butter.
This French-bistro-style soup starts with a slow sweat. Sliced sunchokes tossed with lemon juice (to prevent browning) cook covered with the white parts of leek and sliced carrot in butter for 20 minutes. No browning, just gentle sweating until the vegetables fully soften and release their flavors into the fat.
Chicken stock goes in next for the simmer, then the whole pot gets pureed with cream. The final detail that separates restaurant from home soup is the drum-sieve step. Pressing the puree through a fine sieve removes the last fibrous bits and gives you a soup that runs off the spoon like silk.
Reheat gently and serve immediately. Sunchoke soup loses its delicate flavor if held too long.
Chef Tips
- Scrub the sunchokes well rather than peeling. Their thin skin contains most of the flavor.
- Toss the sliced sunchokes with lemon juice immediately. Like apples, they brown fast when exposed to air.
- Use only the white and pale-green parts of the leek. Dark green is fibrous and turns bitter when blended.
- Pass through a drum sieve for true restaurant texture, or use a fine-mesh sieve as a more home-kitchen-friendly alternative.
Variations
- Add a small peeled potato during the simmer for extra body and a more rustic feel.
- Finish with a swirl of truffle oil and crispy fried sage leaves for restaurant-style presentation.
- Sub vegetable stock and use coconut cream instead of heavy cream for a vegan version.
Ingredients
Directions
Brush and scrub Jerusalem artichokes under cold running water. Cut them into ¼ inch slices and toss with lemon juice.
Melt butter in a 4 quart nonreactive saucepan. Add leek, carrot and Jerusalem artichokes with the lemon juice. Cover and cook over gentle heat for 20 minutes. Add 2½ cups stock or water, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cover and simmer for another 25 minutes.
When cooked, remove from the heat and purée the soup with an additional ½ cup stock, or water and cream. Pass purée through a drum sieve. Return soup to a clean saucepan and reheat.
Comments
