Jerusalem Artichoke Recipe: Creamy No-Dairy Vegetable Soup

Jerusalem artichokes, or sunchokes, are outstanding for making silky, thick creamy soups in combination with a variety of winter vegetables. Adding cream or milk is not necessary to achieve a satisfying, delicious, elegant soup.

Easy to Grow, Easy to Eat

Last spring we planted Jerusalem artichokes and this fall and winter we have been creating recipes to enjoy the tasty harvest from our garden.  Jerusalem artichokes, or  sunchokes, are native to North America and were first eaten by Native Americans. They are hardy and easy to grow and produce abundant sunflowers and edible tubers.

You can find them at farmer's markets, select grocery stores, or from your CSA, but for a reliable supply throughout the fall and winter try growing them yourself. They have a mild nutty taste, and are perfect for growing along a sunny fence as part of  your edible landscape. See my previous post for more details and a recipe for sunchokes and sautéed mushrooms.

 

Creamy Sunchoke and Carrot Soup
Cooked sunchokes have a creamy texture and earthy flavor that makes for really delicious pureed soups. You can make the soup with different veggie combinations. Try potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, winter squash, or even spinach.

You Will Need

• 2 cups Sunchokes, cleaned and cut into ½ inch pieces, about 4 – 5 sunchokes

• 2 cups carrots (or other vegetable), cleaned, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks, about 3 – 4 carrots

• 1 medium onion, diced (or 2 leeks sliced thinly, or 2 -3 shallots sliced thinly)

• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped

• 4 cups of vegetable broth

Plus
Olive oil to saute the vegetables

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon curry powder, if desired
 
To Prepare Sunchokes

Scrub any remaining soil off of the tubers with a vegetable brush under running water. If you have trouble cleaning between the bumby parts just break them up. It's not necessary to peel off the thin skin. Slice the tubers about 1/2 inch thick.

Cook the Vegetables 
Warm up about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in large heavy bottomed soup pot. Add the diced onion and garlic and cook on medium to low heat until they soften and begin to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the sunchokes and carrots pieces and stir to coat with the olive oil and onions. Add 3 cups of the broth so that the vegetables are just beginning to float but still crowded (you don’t want to end up with a thin soup) and simmer covered for about 20 – 25 minutes

Puree the Soup
Add more broth if needed. Season with salt and pepper and the curry powder, if desired. Using an immersion blender (stick blender) or conventional blender, puree the soup until all of the vegetables have been processed into a silky, smooth, thick soup. Add more broth or water if it is too thick.

Serve or Store
Serve warm immediately or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container to use within a few days.

 This post was also published @ Eat, Drink, Better

Photos: Urban Artichoke

Gigante Beans with Salsa Verde: Sunshine in Winter

Gigante beans are very large, but creamy when cooked

A simple dish of creamy, buttery, beans with bright Mediterranean flavors is bound to add a ray of sunshine to your meal. This dish combines Greek beans with Italian salsa verde. First, a note about the beans. Gigante beans are of Greek origin (via the New World). They are very large meaty white beans that are popular in Greece. How do you know you have a gigante? One gigante bean when cooked will fill a teaspoon! However, other white beans would be good substitutes if you can’t find these. Italian butter bean, cannellini runner, or flageolet would be good substitutes, and garbanzos (chick peas) will work well too. You want a bean that will hold its shape and doesn't fall apart after cooking.

Gigante beans with salsa verde and sauteed fava leaves

This dish is best with home cooked beans. For a tutorial on cooking beans, see my previous post. It’s not hard get good results and it doesn’t have to take hours, and home cooked versus canned beans are worlds apart!

Recipe: Gigante Beans with Salsa Verde
2 cups cooked beans (1 cup dry beans)
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 pieces sweet roasted red pepper, diced, about 2 inches by 4 inches per piece (sold in jars, packed in water or oil)
Olive oil for the pan

Add:
Salsa verde (see recipe below) about 2 tablespoons, or more according to taste
Broccoli florets or sauteed fava leaves
Parmesean cheese, shaved

Gently sauté a clove or two of garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan (frying pan is fine), being careful not to burn, about 2 minutes. When the garlic has softened a bit add the cooked beans and stir to coat them with the olive oil. Add the chopped red peppers and stir. If you have fava leaves, add them now and let them wilt. Let cook for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Transfer the contents of the pan to a warmed bowl and stir in two tablespoons or more of the salsa verde. Toss well to coat. Serve with broccoli florets and shaved parmesean cheese if desired.

For Salsa Verde
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves (in season in winter)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 kalamata or other olives, pitted (you may use a teaspoon of rinsed capers instead)
2 slices preserved lemon, or grated rind from one lemon
Salt, to taste

Buzz the Ingredients in a small blender, or dice everything very finely and mix with the olive oil. Let sit for a few minutes before serving to allow the favors to marry. This will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week.

Photos: Urban Artichoke