Artichoke Soup with White Truffle Oil

Like most vegetable soups, this is remarkably easy to make. A decadent drizzle of white truffle oil at the end, absolutely makes this soup sing! 
P.S. Jerusalem Artichokes are neither artichokes nor from Jerusalem... go figure.


To watch JennyB demonstrate this recipe click here

1 and 1/2 pounds Jerusalem artichokes
1/2 lemon
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 floury potato, like a baking potato, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 and 1/2 litres chicken stock (6 and 1/4 cups)
3 tablespoons (soup spoons) cream- single, heavy, whipping- your choice (optional, but good...)
White truffle oil (get the best quality you can afford- this makes a big difference)

1) Peel the Jerusalem artichokes with a vegetable peeler. Save the peels and put the prepared 'artichokes' into a bowl filled with water and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Cut each art. into thirds.

2) Dump the art. peels into the chicken broth and simmer for 2 minutes, remove the peels, saving the stock.

3) In a clean soup pot, over medium high heat, saute the shallot and garlic in truffle oil for just a moment, then add in the potato chunks and and the chopped arts., pour over chicken broth and bring just to a simmer. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft. Puree everything with a stick immersion blender, or go way-low tech and mash with a potato masher (for a chunkier version), pour in cream, stir. Do not let the soup come back to a boil after the cream has been added. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, if desired.

Ladle the soup into pretty bowls and drizzle with truffle oil. Add a bit more cream on top, too if you like.  Serves 6