Jerusalem artichoke soup

Working with The University of Sheffield

Season: SpringWinter

My usual rule for soup-making at home is to batch-cook and have some to freeze. I make an exception for a small portion of precious organic Jerusalem artichokes when they appear in the box in winter and spring.

I will never forget the first time I ate them. I’d been invited to a friend’s mum’s place for Christmas on the Sussex south coast. She served Jerusalem artichoke soup as the first course, and I was swooning over it. It’s like alchemy: these knobbly little tubers transform into the silkiest soup with such a unique, delicate flavour.

The recipe calls for 500g of the J-artichokes. If you don’t have quite that weight, supplement with a small potato, or just reduce the other ingredients proportionately.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

Knob of butter

1 smallish/medium onion, chopped

1 stick of celery, chopped

Splash of white wine (optional)

500g Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed and sliced (supplement with some potato if you don’t have the full 500g)

800ml veg or chicken stock

2 tbsp double cream

salt and black pepper

Optional toppings: fresh flat-leaf parsley; toasted sunflower seeds or crushed hazelnuts

Method

Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan. Add the chopped onion and celery and fry gently, stirring occasionally, for 5 mins. Add a splash of white wine (optional) and stir.

Add the sliced Jerusalem artichokes and stir into the mix for a minute. Add the stock and bring up to a boil. Then turn the heat down straight away and simmer for 20 mins or so, until the artichokes are tender.

Blend the mixture until silky and smooth. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Reheat the soup if you need to. Then add the cream, stir it through well.

Serve. In the bowls, top the soup with chopped parsley and toasted sunflower seeds or hazelnuts (optional).