Artichoke Soup

By Howie

Ingredients

• 6 c chicken stock, fresh or canned
• 1/4 c fresh lemon juice, strained
• 1 cup cold water combined with 1 tb strained lemon juice
• 2 tb butter
• 2 tb shallots, finely chopped
• 2 tb flour
• 1 cup light cream

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

1) With a small sharp knife, trim about 1/8 inch off the stem end of each artichoke and peel the tough outer skin from the remaining stem. Cut the artichokes lengthwise in half, drop them into a 4-5 quart enameled or stainless steel saucepan, and pour in the chicken stock and the 1/4 c of lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan partially and simmer the artichokes for 20-30 minutes, or until their bases show no resistence when pierced with the point of a small sharp knife.

2) With tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the artichokes to a cutting board. Cut or pull off the green artichoke leaves, return them to the saucepan, and simmer partially covered for 10 minutes longer.

3) Meanwhile, cut or pull the thistlelike yellow leaves and hairy inner chokes away from the artichoke bottoms and discard them. Trim the artichoke bottoms, drop them into a bowl and pour the water and lemon juice mixture over them. Set bottoms aside, they can safely wait at room temperature for 2 or 3 hours.

4) Scoop the green leaves out of the stock with a slotted spoon. With a teaspoon, scrape the soft flesh from each artichoke leaf. Return the pulp to the stock and discard the scraped leaves. Simmer the stock, partially covered, for 30 minutes more, then puree the mixture through a food mill set over a bowl or rub it through a sieve. with the back of a spoon.

5) In a heavy 3-4 quart saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat. When the foam begins to subside, add the shallots and stir for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft and translucent, but not brown. Mix in the flour and stir over