Thursday, 6 September 2012

Potato and Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Thyme, Mascarpone and Hazelnuts


From The Return of the Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver, Michael Joseph, 2000.

While the predominant ingredient in this recipe was the Jerusalem artichokes I went very warily with the use of it. It has a tendency to reward one with much wind. So for this I changed the balance to more potatoes and less artichokes. What I ended up using was two medium potatoes (about 500 g) and two artichokes (about 125 g).



An onion, 2 garlic cloves, the potatoes, artichokes and a few fresh thyme leaves were sautéed in a pan with butter. When the onion had softened the stock was added, about a litre. It was actually water and stock cubes. This was brought to the boil and simmered until the vegetables were tender. A stick blender was used to liquidise the soup.

At serving time the soup was reheated and a couple of tablespoons of mascarpone added. It was checked for seasoning and then ladled into plates. Some chopped hazelnuts were sprinkled on the top.

I do like the taste of Jerusalem artichokes and even with the change in quantities the flavour came through quite strongly. The hazelnuts went well with the artichokes and gave a little bit of crunch to the smooth soup.

Taste: ✔✔✔
Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

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