This silky Jerusalem Artichoke Soup is rich and savoury - a deeply satisfying winter warmer soup, perfect with a hunk of crusty bread.
What alchemy happens when you cook a Jerusalem artichoke? How can something so ugly, gnarled and knobbly transform into such a silky and luxurious soup?
It is such a shame that it seems impossible to find these tasty tubers in supermarkets these days - I wonder why?
They are so easy to grow, incredibly tasty and cheap. Perhaps their unconventional looks or lack of uniformity doesn't suit being plastic-wrapped into neat little trays. Perhaps they can't compete for our attention with pretty rainbow carrots or purple potatoes.
Or could it be that their windy side-effects are just a bit embarrassing, (they are affectionately known as Jerusalem fartichokes in our house...!)?
Do seek them out - at farmers' markets, greengrocers, from allotment-keepers, or grow your own. This silky soup is worth it - the nutty artichokes, sweet parsnips, roasted garlic and thyme turn into a bowlful of autumnal loveliness.
The magic happens in the baking tray here, with all the ingredients roasted together until soft and sweet. They are then tipped into a saucepan at the last minute to finish cooking, and blitzed.
📝 What you need
Ingredients
Jerusalem artichokes obviously! They are in season from November through to January so a real winter veg. They aren't easy to find in supermarkets but are really easy to grow, or look out for them at your local Farmers' Market.
Parsnips Their sweetness, especially when roasted, works really well in this silky soup. If you don't have any handy, floury potatoes or any other root veg will work well too.
Garlic Don't be concerned by the inclusion of three garlic cloves between four people! When slow-roasted in the oven garlic turns mellow and soft, with all of the flavour and sweetness but none of the death-breath.
Dairy-free milk I used hazelnut milk which was a really lovely flavour with the root veg, but any plant milk will be fine. Unsweetened is best as the soup has quite a bit of sweetness already.
Vegetable stock A good-quality vegetable bouillon powder is idea, but a stock cube is also fine. Check the ingredients before you buy as some are not vegan.
Equipment
There’s no fancy equipment needed to make soup, of course, though to get a lovely velvet-smooth texture you do need a way of part-blending it.
I use a stick blender which is so quick and easy as you just shove it in the saucepan, blitz for a minute or two and you’re done. They are reasonably priced, you can pick up a basic model like this one* for just over £10 these days, and if you make a lot of homemade soup you won’t regret it.
Mine is this Dualit model* which also has a chopping bowl and whisk, both of which I use a lot.
Alternatively, if you have a blender or food processor you can tip the whole lot in, blitz and return to the saucepan.
❄️ Freezing your soup
Regular readers will know I have a fridge stacked high with soup, and this one is no exception. Freeze in individual portions then simply cook from frozen in the microwave or saucepan for a steaming lunch in under 5 minutes. Delicious!
🍽 If you liked that...
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📖 Recipe
Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with parsnips
Ingredients
- 400g jerusalem artichokes
- 300g parsnips (about 2 large parsnips)
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 200ml dairy-free milk (I used hazelnut milk)
- 600ml vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoon walnut pieces (optional - for garnish)
- handful fresh parsley (optional - for garnish)
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil (for roasting)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
- Peel and thickly slice the jerusalem artichokes, parsnips and onion and place on a large baking tray. Add the garlic cloves (leaving them in their skin), and scatter over the thyme (stripping the leaves off the main stalks).
- Drizzle over the oil, season well with salt and black pepper, then mix well then roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Squeeze the garlic flesh out of the skins, (discard the skins), and remove any remaining thyme stalks, then tip the roasted vegetables into a saucepan.
- Pour in the dairy-free milk and vegetable stock.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then blitz to a smooth purée in a blender, food processor or with a hand blender.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Serve scattered with walnut pieces and chopped parsley.
Video
Nutrition
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Belinda says
Mmm, that looks delicious. Good idea to roast everything together, even the onions. I've never considered doing that, but I'm not sure why! I will next time I'm making a soup . Thanks!
Mrs Rachel Heap says
wow amazing prize would love to win such good quality pans
Linda Hill says
I have a Circulon wok which I have had for 10 years. It is used a least once a week, often more, and it still looks brand new! Not a mark on it anywhere and non-stick surface still perfect. Well done Circulon!
thevegspace says
They are great aren't they! Such good quality.
Victoria Prince says
This looks absolutely delicious 🙂 I am definitely in soup mode now!
Petra says
This is a fantastic recipe, cannot wait to make it at home! It's great I came across this as I am just looking for recipes to feature in a round-up post with seasonal dishes. Would you be happy to be featured and is it ok to use a picture of the dish with some text from the post? I would of course link to the recipe.
thevegspace says
Hi Petra, thanks for your message and I would be delighted for this to be included, thank you! (Image and short section of text only, with link back here for the recipe). Many thanks, Kate x
Petra says
That's great, thank you Kate, I will send you the link as soon as it's live (this week)!
amelia avossa says
Yay! thanks for the chance,
Yummy Soup! i need to make more home made soups... Could do with some Quality Pans!!! Dreamy x
Alexander McEwan says
Perfect with Christmas coming up.