Do I have a treat for you! Jerusalem Artichoke Soup is one of the best soups I have ever eaten in my entire life!! It is so easy to make – just a few ingredients in a pot, boil, simmer, blitz, eat and it is absolutely delicious!
If you aren’t familiar with Jerusalem artichokes, don’t be fooled by the name – they have nothing to do with globe artichokes and although they look a lot like ginger, they aren’t from the ginger family either. They are a root vegetable with a very distinctive flavour which I would imagine is also a very divisive flavour – you may either love it or hate it. I love it and I am yet to find anyone who doesn’t love it.
Years ago (pre vegan and gluten free) one of my favourite restaurants was Vanitas at Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast. Every dish that came out of their kitchen was a work of art and tasted even better than they looked. I once had their degustation menu of about 9 courses and I was seriously full for 3 days – that has never happened to me before.
On one visit there, the waitress came out with the amuse bouche which was a shot glass containing Jerusalem artichoke soup. The taste was unlike anything we had ever tasted before and it was absolutely delicious. I cannot remember what else we ate that night but that tiny little glass of soup instantly earnt a very well deserved place in my mental list of incredible foods I have eaten.
Since then we have served it a few times as an amuse bouche at dinner parties but we decided that it was too good to only have a shot glass full and we graduated to full bowls.
When buying Jerusalem artichokes, try and get the smoothest ones you can because the little nodules can be really tricky to peel. I also always buy extra because you lose quite a bit when peeling. You can leave the skin on if you like but I tried that once and it wasn’t as smooth as it is without the skin.
This dish is really healthy but it is so smooth and creamy that it is hard to believe that there isn’t any cream in it. Hope you enjoy this amazing soup as much as we do.
- 550g Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) peeled and sliced thinly (buy extras because you lose a lot when peeling)
- 1 onion chopped finely
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped into cubes
- 3.5 cups of vegetable stock
- 2 tbs olive oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Salt and pepper to season
- Add oil to a heavy based saucepan and heat over medium heat
- Add onion and garlic & cook until soft and translucent
- Add Jerusalem artichoke and potatoes and stir through
- Add stock
- Bring to boil
- Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until artichokes and potatoes are cooked through.
- Turn off heat and use a stick mixer (emersion blender) to remove all of the lumps & mix until smooth and thick
- If you don’t have a stick mixer, run to the shop and buy one because they are amazing!! Otherwise you can blitz in a blender or food processor
- Serve as is or with croutons or toasted almonds and a dollop of vegan sour cream
- 4 thick slices of crusty gluten free bread
- Olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- Sea salt
- Chop the crusty bread up into bite size cubes & place in a bowl
- Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, add garlic and mix through
- Add about 1 tbs of olive oil to a pan and heat.
- Add croutons and cook until crispy. You will have to turn a few times to crisp up all sides
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