15 May 2013

In Season:Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup



Doing the weekly shop I spotted these little beauties at my local veggie shop. One of winter’s little treats.  They may not look the prettiest but their knobbly bumpy interior hides sweet & nutty flavours that are perfect roasted & blitzed in to a soup to warm one up on what was a wild & wet Sunday afternoon.  

Jerusalem artichokes also known as sunchokes, sunflower choke or topinambour if you are French.  Originally from North America they are a member of the sunflower family they were cultivated by Native Americans. They then became popular with early settlers & then made their way to France in the 17th century & became popular throughout Europe before potato took over in the middle of the 18th century.


These knobbly little tubers pack quite the nutritious punch; rich in carbs, low in calories & packed with potassium, iron & vitamin C not to mention a good dose of fibre too.  They are versatile little fellows, equally at home raw in a salad or boiled or roasted like potatoes & of course they can be the star ingredient in soup.

The wet & the wild weekend allowed this little soup to shine & come in to its own as it warmed me up & brought a smile to my face on an otherwise dreary Sunday.  Though as I think I mentioned before, I am kind of like these days at the moment, especially when snuggled up inside with a bowl of something comforting, taking it easy, reading or watching a movie or just snoozing. I am going to make the most of enjoying these darker days as soon enough I will be pining for Spring!

In the meantime we can enjoy soup.


Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Ingredients

750g Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed clean & dried
2 tbsp hazelnut oil, if you don’t have hazelnut oil use olive oil
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with string
2 sprigs rosemary, tied with string
3 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock
Sea & pepper
Toasted hazelnuts
Greek yogurt
Another sprig of rosemary



Directions

Pre heat the oven to 190C/375F

Place the Jerusalem artichokes on a baking sheet & drizzle the hazelnut oil.  Yes that’s right no peeling! If some are a little large cut them in half.  Sprinkle over a little salt and pepper & place in the oven & roast until they are cooked through; 35-40 minutes. When done they will feel soft inside when pierced with a knife. 


Meanwhile heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a heavy based saucepan & add the onions, garlic & a pinch of salt.  Sauté until soft & translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the thyme & rosemary & cook for a few minutes more.  Add the stock, Jerusalem artichokes & season with salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil & simmer for 5-10 minutes, really just to allow all the flavours to meld.  Blitz with a hand blender until smooth.




To serve ladle in to bowls, top with a dollop of yoghurt, a few toasted hazelnuts, a sprig of rosemary, a little hazelnut oil & a slice or 2 of crusty bread. The roasting & the hazelnut oil add a few more layers of nuttiness & the yoghurt a little richness. The rosemary provides a fresh herbal hit.



Enjoy!


7 comments:

  1. This sounds wonderful. I have a big Jerusalem artichoke patch in my kitchen garden and have been meaning to make some into soup for ages. I usually just chop them raw into salads, but they have such a wonderful flavor when roasted. Thanks for the delicious inspiration! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Susan, it does make a wonderful soup, was so rich & smooth even without adding any cream :) And do recommend the hazelnut oil as it makes it just all the more nuttier :)

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  2. Mmmmh, it sounds delicious! And what a pretty kitty!! +1!

    Ciao
    Alessandra

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Alessandra....it is perfect soup weather :) And yes a handsome kitty...with the life of reilly :) Snoozing & snuggling day after day!

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  3. Your soup inspired me to mine. Thanks for the recipe! http://hamburgkocht.blogspot.de/2015/12/gebackene-topinambur-suppe-mit.html

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