Sunchoke and Spring Onion Soup

A cloudy day. A hazy week, it's been. I heard that (now that we've left Ghana) Europe's getting its own Harmattan - complete with haze, dust and lower temperatures. Well, it rained today, so I hope the dust stuck to that as it fell to the ground and our skies will be clear tomorrow.

For a cold, cloudy day, I decided a potato soup was the only solution. Then I looked in the fridge and consulted my Bittman (my kitchen bible). Seeing my fridge's leftovers, I decided to make a soup with those two Jerusalem artichokes I'd had hanging out for months. Since I blended up two of Bittman's recipes, I proudly dub this one an ATIC original!

It's rich, creamy, easy, and soooo good! The spring onion is tangier than a normal onion, and blends with the butter for a beautiful richness. And, in case you don't remember, a sunchoke acts like a potato but tastes like an artichoke. Which means this is basically an artichoke-flavored soup. If you're not convinced by now, you probably never will be. And if you don't have any topinambur (a.k.a. sunchoke, a.k.a. Jerusalem artichoke) hanging around - substitute with cauliflower or more potatoes, and bookmark this page for next winter. 

Sunchoke and Spring Onion Soup with Parsley "Half-Pesto" Garnish

serves 2

prep time: 15 minutes

cook time: 20 minutes

ingredients

4 small floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

4 small sunchokes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 tbsp butter or olive oil

1 large spring onion, sliced in rings (just the white and lightest green parts - save the darker green parts for garnish)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp sour cream (optional)

salt and pepper

for the parsley drizzle:

2 tbsp fresh parsley

5 walnuts (or so)

1 tbsp olive oil

directions

Peel and cut the veggies.

In a deep saucepan, melt the butter or heat the oil on medium. When the butter's melted/oil's hot, add the spring onion. Cook until it starts to brown, about 3 minutes.

Add the potatoes, sunchoke and garlic and increase to medium-high heat. Season with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Cook until the veggies are starting to soften, about 5 more minutes.

  

Add the veggie broth. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the sunchoke pieces are all tender. Test them out (like I didn't) before declaring them done. Underdone veggies = extra-chunky soup.

Meanwhile, make the parsley drizzle, if using. Mince the parsley super fine. Mince the walnuts super fine. Super duper fine with a big knife. Mix with olive oil in a bowl.

When the veggies are tender, use an immersion blender in the pan. If you don't have one, set the pan aside to cool briefly (hot soup is dangerous!) then run it through a blender or a food mill to your desired chunkiness. Stir in the sour cream, if using.

Serve in bowls. Garnish with the green parts of the spring onions, and drizzle the half-pesto on top.