Garlicky Leek And Artichoke Soup Food

CREAMY ARTICHOKE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a heavy, large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and the garlic and stir. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the artichokes, stock, salt, and pepper and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Using a handheld immersion blender, or in a blender in batches*, puree the soup. Add the 2 tablespoons mascarpone and blend again to combine. In a small bowl, stir the remaining 1/3 cup mascarpone to soften.
• Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Dollop the top of each of the soups with a spoonful of the softened mascarpone cheese and top the cheese with chives.
• * When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

GARLICKY LEEK AND ARTICHOKE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic, and saute 5 minutes or until leeks are softened and translucent. Add broth, artichokes, potatoes, thyme, and 2 cups water; cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; season with salt and pepper, if desired; and simmer, partially covered, 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes and garlic are very tender.
• Remove thyme sprigs and strip remaining thyme leaves into soup pot. Transfer soup to blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to pot and stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish each serving with 1 tablespoons prepared pesto.

ARTICHOKE SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter and cook the artichoke hearts, leek, garlic, onion and shallots until tender but not brown. Add the potatoes and stock. Tie up the bay leaf, thyme, parsley and peppercorns in cheesecloth and add to the pot. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour.
• Remove and discard the herbs. Purée the soup and pass it through a fine strainer. When ready to serve, heat the soup and whisk in the remaining butter and the cream. Season with salt and serve.

ARTICHOKE SOUP

Steps:

• Clean and prepare the artichokes as detailed on page 18. Put artichokes in a serving bowl and toss with the lemon juice.
• Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, and cook until they begin to stick to the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes. Add the leeks and shallots, and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle in the garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and peperoncino. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Add the prepped, drained artichokes, and bring the soup to a rapid simmering. Cook, uncovered, until potatoes and artichokes are tender and the potatoes have broken down to thicken the soup, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Stir in the chopped parsley, and serve the soup with grated cheese.

SUNCHOKE (JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE) AND LEEK SOUP WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the leek in the hot oil until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir the sunchokes, celery, carrot, and garlic into the leeks. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves and 1/2 bunch chopped tarragon. Increase the heat to high; cook and stir until the vegetables are hot, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pour the vermouth into the pan; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the vegetable broth, reduce heat to medium-low, and bring the mixture to a simmer; cook until the vegetables are completely tender, about 30 minutes. Reserving a few sprigs for garnish, add the watercress to the soup; allow the watercress to wilt in the hot soup, about 5 minutes.
• While the soup simmers, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms to the melted butter, season with salt and pepper, and cook until completely tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining tarragon and set aside.
• Remove and discard the bay leaves. Reserve about 1/3 of the soup in a separate pot. Pour the other 2/3 of the soup into a blender in batches, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Holding the lid of the blender with towel, carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into the pot with the unblended portion. Serve in bowls, topping each with a large spoonful of the cooked mushrooms and a sprig of watercress.