Jerusalem Artichoke and Spinach Soup

The soup on Christmas Day should be innocuous after yesterday’s polarizing essence. To that end, I’ve chosen in advance a recipe from Nigel Slater that fits well with the season. The soup is easy to make and takes about 60 minutes to complete.

White part

• 1 thick stick of leek (just the white).
• a little butter
• 250g Jerusalem artichoke
• 1/2l chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• salt

I cut the leeks into narrow rings and saute them in butter for about 10 minutes until soft, without them taking color. I only learned from the excellent vegetable book Tender that you don’t have to peel Jerusalem artichokes, so now I just wash and roughly chop them. It cooks along for a few minutes, then I add bay leaf and stock and simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.

I then puree it in a food processor and pass the puree through a medium fine sieve. If necessary, I add a dash of water afterwards and keep the soup warm.

Green part

In the now free pan I steam

• 250g spinach
• A little nutmeg

Until the leaves are soft. I squeeze them vigorously in a colander and puree them with

• 1 tablespoon creme fraiche

until the spinach looks like the kid version we used to hate.

To serve, I put a small mountain of spinach on the preheated plate and pour the Jerusalem artichoke soup around it. For garnish, I cut artichoke hearts into quarters and place them on top of the mountain of spinach. Nice association, since Jerusalem artichoke is also called Jerusalem artichoke, although the two plants have nothing to do with each other.

A nice start to our menu today, very earthy and wintry.

jerusalem artichoke and spinach soup, with creme fraiche