Spelt Soup

From Pure Vegetarian, Paul Gayler, Kyle Cathie Limited, 2008.

Finding whole grain spelt was quite a problem; finding spelt flour was no problem at all, but eventually I was able to come across a store that had the spelt grain so I was able to try out this recipe.

It called for the spelt to be soaked overnight. The next day an onion and a garlic clove were fried for a few minutes in butter before 300 g of sliced Jerusalem artichokes were added with a few sage leaves and a pinch of saffron. Vegetable stock was added and brought to the boil. At this stage in went the soaked spelt and it was cooked for about 20 minutes until the vegetables had become tender. The stick blender was then used to make it smooth. Some cream was added with salt and pepper to taste.

When it was served some reserved spelt was added together with grated pecorino cheese. A little extra virgin oil was drizzled over.

This was a thick creamy soup, very tasty. The Jerusalem artichokes have a distinctive pleasing flavour but, I guess, I’ll be using them with extreme care in future: they do cause digestive problems with some users and, apparently, I am one of those because severe stomach pains resulted after partaking of the soup.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔