It starts with sweating some onion and garlic together as the flavoring base; add some white wine and vegetable stock along with the canned artichokes and let all those things cook away until they’re tender enough to purée into a completely smooth soup. Return to the pot, add a smidge (okay, a lot) of cream and some crème fraîche for tang and richness. Simmer to meld all the flavors and your soup is done!
I like to garnish with some lemon wedges, chives, a crème fraîche drizzle, and few extra grilled artichoke hearts, which you can purchase or do yourself in a hot cast-iron skillet or grill pan (which is what I did). Just grill until there’s some char and the artichokes are heated through. Some homemade fried croutons are really all this soup needs to send it over the top-and give it a crunch factor. I’m really just here for the garnishes, because more is more.
Creamy Artichoke Soup with Crème Fraîche
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
Description
This light yet creamy artichoke soup is the perfect year-round soup-it takes advantage of canned artichoke hearts and some other pantry and refrigerator staples to make a warm, comforting vegetarian side dish!
Ingredients
- Olive oil, as needed
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Two 14-ounce cans artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche
- 1 baguette, cut into small, bite-sized cubes
- Grilled artichoke hearts, for garnish, if desired
- Crème fraîche thinned with a little cream until drizzleable, if desired
- Finely chopped fresh chives, for garnish
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and add a little olive oil and the 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, and sauté until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the chopped artichokes and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the dry white wine and allow the liquid to reduce for about 2 minutes, until almost no liquid remains. Stir in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the artichokes are meltingly tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the soup to a blender, cover with the lid and a dish towel covering the pour spout and blend for 1 to 2 minutes on high, until completely smooth. Return the mixture to the pot. You can strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve if you want to be sure the soup is smooth (or don’t have a high-powered blender), but that’s completely optional.
- Add the cream and crème fraîche and stir to combine. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the soup has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- In the meantime, preheat a large skillet over medium heat and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add the bread cubes and toast until golden and crisp. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve the soup with a drizzle of thinned crème fraîche, grilled artichoke hearts, if desired, toasted bread cubes, chives and lemon wedges.
Notes
Inspiration: Creamy Artichoke Soup on howsweeteats.com and Duarte’s Cream of Artichoke Soup on saveur.com
- Category: Soups/Stews, Vegetarian