Serves 4
This soup is wonderfully creamy with a delicate artichoke flavour. ?It is best to use large globe artichokes for this recipe, but if you can only get smaller ones, ?use eight or nine of them.
? 6 large globe artichokes
? Juice of 1 lemon
? 75g butter
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? ?1 large Spanish onion, peeled?and chopped
? 75ml dry white wine
? ?600ml chicken or ?vegetable stock
? ?Sea salt and freshly ground?black pepper
? 2-3 tbsp double cream
1 First, prepare the artichoke hearts. Have ready a large bowl of water with the juice ?of a lemon. Cut off the stem, ?then pull off all the leaves, including the smaller purple-tipped ones inside. Using a ?small sharp knife, pull or cut away the hairy chokes. Wash ?the hearts and slice finely, then immediately drop them into the bowl of lemon water to prevent them from discolouring.
2 Melt half the butter in a large pan, then sweat the onions over a medium heat until slightly softened, about 5-6 minutes. Drain the artichokes, pat dry ?and add to the pan. Saut? for another 5-6 minutes until the artichokes begin to soften.
3 Pour in the wine and let it bubble until reduced and slightly syrupy. Add the stock and seasoning. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the artichokes are very tender.
4 Blend the soup using a stick blender (or a regular blender) until smooth. For a really fine result, push the blended soup through a sieve back into the pan.
5 Reheat when ready to serve, then turn down the heat and whisk in the remaining butter and a touch of cream. The soup should have a smooth and velvety texture. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving in warm bowls.