The foggy coastline of Northern California is artichoke country. Like finding small hole-in-the-walls that serve clam chowder in New England, here one can sometimes find local diners that sell delicious artichoke soup.
I first developed a taste for artichoke soup on frequent trips to Pescadero Beach during college. So when I found this recipe in the New York Times, I couldn’t resist.
Over the years we’ve changed it up a little bit, mostly reducing the butter and cream. The soup is wonderfully rich, smooth, and creamy.
Artichoke Soup Recipe
PrintThe recipe can easily be cut in half. We do not recommend using frozen artichoke hearts for this soup, as frozen hearts are treated in an acidic solution, changing the flavor of the soup.
Ingredients
- The hearts from 5 large artichokes (see How to trim an artichoke)
- 5 Tbsp butter, divided
- 1 medium size leek, white-and-light green parts only, sliced and rinsed (see How to Clean Leeks)
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots (or yellow onion, if shallots aren't available)
- 8 oz of Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 12 cups of chicken stock (if cooking gluten-free, use gluten-free stock) or vegetable stock (for vegetarian option)
- 1/2 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 4 sprigs of parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
- 1/4 cup of cream
- Salt to taste
Method
1 Prepare the artichoke hearts. Peel off the leaves from around the artichokes until you get to the thistly choke in the center.
(Note, we save most of the leaves to steam separately and eat dipped in melted butter or mayonnaise. Why waste perfectly good artichoke leaves?)
With a small knife, remove the thistle choke part and discard. Cut or peel away the tough outside skin of the stems and discard. You can keep one to two inches of the stem on the artichoke heart. Longer stems you can discard.
Slice the hearts or chop to a quarter inch thickness.
2 Cook the artichoke hearts, leek, garlic, shallots in butter: Melt the butter in a large, thick-bottomed pot on medium heat. Add the artichoke hearts, sliced leek, garlic, and shallots. Cook until tender, but not brown.
3 Add potatoes, stock, herbs, then simmer: Add the peeled diced potatoes and the stock. Wrap the herbs (bay leaf, thyme, parsley) and peppercorns in cheesecloth and place in the pot. Increase the heat to bring the soup to a simmer, then lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook uncovered, for 1 hour.
4 Purée the soup, push through sieve: After an hour, remove and discard the herbs. Purée the soup and use a rubber spatula to push it through a fine mesh sieve. At this point you can make ahead and refrigerate until ready to serve.
When you are ready to serve, heat the soup and stir in the remaining butter and the cream. Season with salt to taste and serve.
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I am allergic to Onions, Garlic, Leeks and Potatoes. Any suggestions for altering the recipes above? I usually am pretty creative but these ingredients seem to dominate here.
I made this soup for guests the other night and
it really was not that good. Even tho I used
more artichokes; fresh, not canned or frozen;
and less potatoes than called for in the recipe
the universal comment was it tasted like potato
soup. I used non salted butter and low sodium
chicken stock, so it definitely needed salt to
boost the flavor. We ended up adding salt, lots
of pepper, and lemon juice to mask the overwhelming potato flavor. I probably won’t try this recipe again.
It’s essential to use the artichoke water from steaming the artichokes before cutting up the hearts. Condense the artichoke broth to one cup by simmering. The soup should be a lovely pale green. Canned and frozen will not compare to fresh.
I’ve used this recipe several times with great success! It’s my favorite, by far, and I love the ambiance of the Shadowbrook. If you ever get a chance to eat there, I highly recommend it. They use frozen artichoke hearts, which are easier to come by when you live not so close to the coast. :)
Shadowbrook (Capitola) Creamy Artichoke Soup
1 lb.
(or 2-8.5 oz.
cans, drained) Frozen artichoke hearts
1 med.-lg.
or 2 sm. Potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 med. Onion, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 Celery stocks, chopped
1/2 med. Leek (white only), sliced
1 clove Garlic, finely chopped (optional)
3 Cups Chicken or vegetable stock
1/8 Cup
or 2 Tbsp. Fresh minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
1/3 Tsp. Dried oregano
1/2 Tsp. Dried basil
3 Tbsp. Butter
2 Tbsp. Flour
1/2 Tsp. Half and Half
1/2 Cup Heavy cream
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Pepper
1-2 Tsp. Fresh lemon juice
Directions: Cook vegetables, including frozen artichoke hearts if used, in water until soft, approx 10-12 minutes. Drain. In blender, purée cooked vegetables (add canned artichoke hearts here, if used) and optional garlic. Return to pot. Add the herbs and stock. Sim-mer for 20 minutes.
Make a roux with the melted butter and flour over medium heat. Add the half and half, stirring until smooth. Add to soup. Add the heavy cream. Bring soup back up to boil and season with salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice to taste. To thin soup, add half and half. To thicken, add more roux.
Strain through a fine strainer or colander. Makes about 6-8 ounce servings.
The cream of artichoke soup from Duarte’s is my absolute favorite. They also have a really great cream of chili soup. My dad grew up in Pescadero, and our family still lives in the area, so we go there whenever we can. FYI: the Duarte’s are Portuguese, not Italian, so their name is pronounced Due-art, not Due-art-tay, like many people make the mistake of doing. It’s just one of those things that gets annoying if you’re a local and know better :)