When is an artichoke not an artichoke? When it’s a Jerusalem artichoke. Did you know that Jerusalem artichokes are native North American plants? Actually, they are an edible tuber of a flowering plant that resembles a sunflower and are often called sunchokes. According to Wikipedia, Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer, sent the first samples of the plant to France, noting that its taste was similar to an artichoke.

Resembling a ginger root, the Jerusalem artichoke has a slightly sweet, smoky, earthy taste and is very easy to prepare. It can be eaten raw sliced on salads, steamed or diced a cooked like a potato. This quick and delicious soup brings out the earthy flavor is ideal for the Fall.

 

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 onions, peeled and diced
• 8 cups (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 pound Jerusalem artichokes, unpeeled, diced into 1/3 inch thick pieces
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 green onion (dark green part only), chives or parsley, chopped (optional garnish)

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in large stock pot. Add onion and saute until soft (about 8 minutes). If time permits, caramelize the onion for added flavor. Stir in garlic until incorporated about 1 -2 minutes.
2. Add broth to the stockpot and bring to a boil. Add Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes. Cover and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in marjoram, ginger and salt and pepper to taste; cool about 20 minutes.
3. Using an immersion blender  purée soup until smooth — there will be some small chunks which add to the rustic, earthiness of the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning. Simmer for 5 minutes to blend flavors, thin with additional broth if soup is too thick.
4. To serve ladle soup into bowls; sprinkle with green onion, chives or fresh parsley and serve.

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Tags: easy soup recipe, Jerusalem artichoke soup, sunchoke soup

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 at 2:09 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.