Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Morel Mushrooms
Jerusalem artichokes have nothing to do with either the capital of Israel or globe artichokes, so what gives? Extensive research indicates that we can blame the English. Jerusalem artichokes are root tubers from a type of sunflower. The Italian word for sunflower is girasole (“to turn towards the sun”), which eventually morphed into “Jerusalem” after landing on British shores. People who want none of that confusion prefer to call these sunchokes.
The “artichoke” part is easier to explain — fully cooked sunchokes taste similar to globe artichokes. When raw or lightly cooked, it will be juicy and crunchy, almost like jicama or water chestnuts.
This recipe also highlights morel mushrooms, another springtime Ingredient of Desire. The soup is finished with a hefty dose of cream for that velvety texture and topped with fragrant sauteed morels prior to serving.
recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay
Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Marija
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Morel Mushrooms
makes about 4 servings
Jerusalem artichokes / sunchokes in a cute little box.
Ingredients:
5 ounces fresh morel mushrooms, halved and cleaned
1 pound Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed or peeled
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Fill a bowl with cold water and stir in the lemon juice. Cut the Jerusalem artichokes into thin slices and immediately drop into the bowl of lemon water to keep them from browning. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and drain.
- In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped shallots and saute for about 5 minutes while stirring frequently (try not to let the shallots brown). Add the sliced Jerusalem artichokes and saute for about 5 minutes more.
- Add the white wine and cook until the wine is evaporated. Pour in the chicken or vegetable stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, just until the Jerusalem artichokes are thoroughly softened.
- Puree the soup using a food mill, food processor, or blender. Strain using a medium-mesh strainer back into the saucepan and stir in the cream. You can cool the soup and refrigerate at this point to serve later.
- To serve, heat the Jerusalem artichoke soup over low heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
In a small skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and butter over medium heat. Saute the morel mushrooms for about 5 minutes and season lightly with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Ladle the Jerusalem artichoke soup into bowls and top with the sauteed morel mushrooms.
Looks can be deceiving.
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May 10th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
An unusual combination! That soup looks and sounds absolutely delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
May 11th, 2009 at 12:35 am
This soup looks like it has a great velvety texture. Sunchokes are great. love pickled sunchokes.
beautiful pic by the way.
May 11th, 2009 at 5:19 am
I had always wondered where the “Jerusalem” came from. Looks like the perfect salute to Spring! Yumm! Especially loving the morels.
May 11th, 2009 at 6:35 am
You have such great ingredients going on! I haven’t tried either, but I would love to.
May 11th, 2009 at 6:49 am
as usual, gorgeous! I haven’t had a Jerusalem artichoke in years!
May 11th, 2009 at 7:15 am
Oh that sounds good. I have a bunch of sunchokes I just got from the farm. I usually roast them but this sounds so tasty!
May 11th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Hi Jude,this looks delicious!Its my first time to visit your website and Ive already listed a couple of recipes i cant wait to try!Hope you wont mind but I’d love to guide Foodista readers to your site, just add this little widget here to this post and it’s all set to go, Thanks!
May 11th, 2009 at 7:39 am
You have the most interesting selections. Jerusalem artichokes. I never knew!
May 11th, 2009 at 7:51 am
This looks really delicious. I love sunchokes, I’m always looking for new ways to cook them. And you can never go wrong with morels!
May 11th, 2009 at 8:46 am
How interesting! I’ve never had either the Jerusalem Artichokes nor morels.
Love your presentation: a ver pretty bowl!
May 11th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Oh my! This looks delicious! I haven’t cooked with sunchokes, but I’m inspired to give it a shot. Lovely!
May 11th, 2009 at 9:40 am
How totally decadent and great- this would be a great one to make over these last few chilly spring days.
-Siri
May 11th, 2009 at 10:11 am
OMG! I thought those were grasshoppers when I first looked at the picture. Morels sound much more appetizing!
May 11th, 2009 at 10:59 am
You sure are making the most of spring!
I love the taste of sunchokes and this soup looks so creamy, so velvety, so inviting. And the morels don’t look at all unappetizing to me. This looks like something that can be enjoyed all year round regardless of the weather. I’m curious to find out if this soup will also taste good if it’s served chilled Vychissoise style — without the morels, that is. With the fresh, vibrant taste of the sunchokes, it *might* work.
May 11th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Such wonderful flavours!
May 11th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Those are ‘chokes unlike anything we’ve ever seen! Nice soup. Looks delicious.
May 11th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Really unusual. I have never had artichokes of any kind
Love the sound of the soup though. Thanks for entering this week!
May 11th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Goodness knows I think morel is an Ingredient of Desire. I’m always desiring morels. I think I’m desiring this soup too!
May 11th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Those look more like ginger than artichokes! The soup looks so pure & divine, but I cannot even imagine how it is going to taste, neither the flavors. wish we could webtaste food!
May 11th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I love the morels just bobbing in the soup – looks fabulous! Oh, and I finally found *one* farmers market stand that had ramps. Then the boyfriend nixed them. *sigh*
May 11th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I jsut tried some of these last summer. I loved them. I did kind of a dip with them. Cant wait to get them this year and the other one I tried last year too. That is celery root or celeriac.
You comment on my blog for Mothers Day just cracked me up!
May 11th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I’ve been wanting to try Jerusalem artichokes for a while now, but I’ve never done so for some reason. This is a good reminder!
May 11th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I always thought that there must be some link to Jeruselum. Also they don’t look anything like other artichokes. What a funny (but delicious) vegetable. Nice looking soup too!
May 11th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
That soup looks so amazingly creamy and delicious – it would be perfect for my tooth! lol
That said, I haven’t had a Jerusalem artichoke in ages, and your soup makes me want to go out and get some!
May 11th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Oooh, how beautiful, Jude!
May 12th, 2009 at 10:12 am
This sounds fabulous…wow…I love these types of soups. Thanks for the inspiration.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Oh wow looks and sounds fabulous!!
May 12th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
The photos are beyond spectacular, the are just fabulous!
May 12th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Jude, you are so inspiring. You always introduce new ingredients that I’ve never considered using!
May 12th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
It’s amazing how the names of foods (and other things) evolve so that as descriptors, they’re off the mark! No such thing with our soup, though; this hits the spot deliciously!
May 13th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Looks are deceiving indeed. I bet this soup is sublime. I can’t help wondering what a few fried grasshoppers would add to the dish…
May 14th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
This soup looks so delicious, thanks for the information about Jerusalem artichokes so this is a dish full of flavor and culture because I did not know why they were called that way.
I Love, love your pictures
May 14th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I adore jerusalem artichoke soup – and morel mushrooms. Oh Jude, you make my day.
May 15th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
God Jude, this soup is absolutely gorgeous. Such a perfect snapshot of springtime.
May 16th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Love them in soup! Exciting combo with the morel mushrooms!
May 19th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Jude, I’m just catching up on all these posts from the past few weeks. This soup looks amazing! I really love the photo of the sunchokes in the box, too.
I didn’t get to forage for morels this year, and it is now my singular goal for the spring of 2010.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Lisa, Vanielje, grasshoppers? I knew I should’ve gone for the larger morels
June 5th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
This is my favorite soup ever! Thanks for sharing!
May 14th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
This soup was delicious and easy to make. Does anyone know the calorie count for this soup?
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June 11th, 2011 at 6:40 am
Youre a real deep thinker. Thanks for shinarg.