Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

I agree with Paul Bocuse that many heirloom vegetables should stay forgotten. But only the ones that ran out of fashion because of their taste, like turnips. Yuk! On the other hand, there are also vegetables that just became unpopular because they’re such a pain peeling/preparing or have unwanted side effects (gas), like Jerusalem artichokes. But Jerusalem artichokes, “aardperen” in dutch, actually taste very nice! They have a sweet and nutty flavor. You can serve them raw, thinly sliced with a lemony vinaigrette or make a super-easy, super-creamy soup.


RECIPE

500g Jerusalem artichoke
1 medium potato
1 smaller onion
butter/oil
± 300 ml chickenstock or water
milk or cream (optional)
lemon juice
salt & pepper

Peel the potato and Jerusalem artichokes and cut into similar size chunks (1,5 cm). After peeling a Jerusalem artichoke you should immediately plunge it in some water with a drop of lemon juice, vinegar or ascorbic acid to prevent it from turning gray, which happens quite quickly. The potato is only there to eliminate or reduce the gas-effect of the Jerusalem artichoke.

Saute the chopped onion in some oil or butter for 5-10 minutes until soft, translucent and starting to brown.

Add the potato and Jerusalem artichoke and saute some more.

Add enough of the chickenstock to cover the vegetables and simmer until they’re done/soft. It took me longer than I expected, about 40 minutes.

Blizz in a heat-proof blender until smooth and silky.

Add more chickenstock or milk/cream to your liking. I like my soup thick, but I know others don’t.

Add pepper and salt to your taste. Splash of lemon juice is nice too.

Okay, so that’s the soup.
Now you want to pimp it.
This is what I tried:

Smoked brown shrimp with samphire and chives (top photo)

Samphire with garlic croutons and chives (bottom photo)

Chopped roasted hazelnuts with chives. (photo here)

Some crispy bacon or smoked salmon will probably work too. Roquefort? Anything salty, I guess.

I blanched the samphire (zeekraal in dutch) by pouring boiling water over it in a sieve. Then dressed it with a little bit of olive oil and pepper. (never use salt with samphire) The shrimps I smoked for about 10 minutes on apple-wood in my stovetop smoker. I tried smoking them with and without their skin and decided that smoking them without is easier and just as good or maybe even better.