It’s ugly.
There. I said it.
This Artichoke and Mushroom Soup is not going to win any beauty prizes. It is sort of a drab grey brown. That said, looks aren’t everything. This creamy soup is delicious!
My suggestion is to serve this soup on your most colorful china. Then, close your eyes and savor the soup’s thick creamy wonderfulness. You won’t be sorry. You won’t miss the glam. Promise.
This recipe is from a charity cookbook titled Soup For Syria. The cookbook is filled with wonderful recipes contributed by renowned chefs. This particular recipe was contributed to the book by a gourmet restaurant in Lebanon, Restaurant Couqley.
In writing about this recipe, the restaurant owner, Alexis Couquelet, wrote movingly:
“We at Couqley decided to participate in this noble project to show the world that despite the daily acts of cruelties in our war-torn region, there are people who care about other people. There are people who value humanity over politics, power, war, and destruction. There are people who want to help other people just because they are human and that’s what humans do.”
We think Alexis Couquelet had a point. Sometimes we get distracted by the devastating news from the world’s most recent hot spot and briefly forget that, regretfully, people are suffering in many places. Truth be told, we live in a world of hurt.
The book is available on Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Artichoke-Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb. mushrooms
- 2 lb.frozen artichoke hearts (thawed and quartered)
- 1/4 to 1/2 C. neutral oil
- 1/2 lb. onion (chopped)
- 1/2 lb. potato (peeled and cubed)
- 8 1/2 C. vegetable stock
- 1 C. cream
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1 Sauté cleaned mushrooms and artichoke quarters in hot oil for about 5 minutes. Add potatoes to the mushroom/artichoke mix and continue sautéing for another 5 minutes.
- Step 2 Add vegetable broth. Simmer soup for about 15 minutes.
- Step 3 Blend soup in your blender or food processor until the mixture is smooth.
- Step 4 Pour blended soup back into your soup pot, add cream.
- Step 5 Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the soup is heated through.
- Step 6 Cook’s Note: I found bags of frozen young artichoke hearts at Trader Joe’s. They worked perfectly for this soup.
