Easy and healthy vegetarian Jerusalem Artichoke soup
This Jerusalem Artichoke soup is extremely easy to make and showcases the delicious, nutty flavour of this much underused vegetable. In addition to the artichokes, it uses onions to add an additional depth of flavour and potatoes to thicken up the texture and, apart from some vegetable stock, that is it!
Why make your own soup?
I am a great fan of home-made vegetarian soups and make them all the year around. However, I think in winter, particularly after the excesses of Christmas and New Year, they are exactly what I want to cook and eat. They are very easy to make, requiring little or no culinary expertise, taste delicious and are a brilliant way to increase your intake of vegetables. There are lots of reasons why it is worth making your own soup rather than using ready-made soup from a packet.
It is very easy to make your own soup. You can also make it in advance and re-heat when you wish to eat it. It will keep for several days in the refrigerator and can be frozen for up to a year.
They are delicious and you can use vegetables or combinations of vegetables that you particularly like. Once you know the basic soup-making techniques you can use these to make all kinds of vegetable soup. Personally, I like to showcase one or two vegetables in each soup recipe, with one or two additional flavours, but you can let your imagination go with possible combinations according to your taste. In addition to Jerusalem Artichokes, I think that the following vegetables are really good soup ingredients: onions, leeks, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, beetroot, tomatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, peas and spinach. I am not overly keen on brassica-based soup (cauliflower, broccoli etc) but that is just a matter of personal taste!
They will contain lots of nutrients from the vegetables that go into them and also include a lot of vegetable fibre which is great for your digestion. You can control you can control the amount of salt and fat included which means that generally they are healthier that shop-bought equivalents.
Lots of lovely soup!
As you might expect, I have a lot of soup recipes! All my soups are vegetarian and all can be made vegan by substituting animal fats, such as butter, for vegetable fats. Some of them are pretty simple such as Fennel Soup and showcase a single vegetable. Others combine vegetables which have complimentary flavours such as Celeriac and Apple Soup, Mushroom and Chestnut Soup, Pumpkin and Sweetcorn Soup or Leek and Potato Soup. A few have more unusual combinations of flavours such as Curried Parsnip and Apple Soup, Beetroot Soup with Coconut or Butternut and Peanut Butter Soup. I also have a few chilled soup recipes, which are fantastic cold in the summer, but can also be served warm such as Asparagus and Pea and Tomato.
Heat the butter or oil in a large saucepan or casserole.
Peel and roughly chop the onion and the jerusalem artichokes and add to the pan. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and fry them very gently for around 15 minutes until the onions are translucent and the artichoke pieces are beginning to soften.
Peel and chop the potatoes and add to the pan with the onion and artichoke pieces.
Add the vegetable stock and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Blend the soup until smooth in a food processor or with a hand-held blender.
If the soup is too thick, you can add a little water to thin it to the desired consistency.
Notes
You can make this soup vegan by just using vegetable oil.
The vegetable is made of a carbohydrate called inulin, he explained, instead of the tuber's typical starch, and inulin has an Ex-Lax-like effect on the human digestive system—we can't digest it naturally, so our gut bacteria go to town.
Modern science concurs: “Boiling Jerusalem artichokes in an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar will hydrolyze the inulin to fructose and small amounts of glucose,” Rastall advises.
Roast them whole like mini jacket potatoes at 180C, for 30 minutes, or until tender.Split them open, and drizzled with chilli oil or your favourite yoghurt and lemon dip. For a full recipe, give this roasted Jerusalem artichoke with miso butter a go!
Jerusalem artichokes are super high in Inulin, a well-known prebiotic. So it has a lot of digestive and immune benefits. And just 20g grams give you your recommended amount of prebiotics for a day.
Jerusalem artichoke is generally considered safe to eat. 17 However, for some people, its high inulin content can cause digestive discomfort (the vegetable has a reputation for causing a lot of gas). If this happens to you, you may want to limit how much you eat, at least until your body gets used to it.
Spices, such as cumin, black pepper, ginger, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon, and cardamom, can support digestive health and prevent excessive gas. However, some spices can work against gut health and cause bloating. Spices like chili, onion, and garlic can disrupt digestion and encourage gas buildup.
Specifically, artichokes are high in inulin, a type of fiber that's not easily broken down in the small intestine in people with IBS. Inulin becomes food for bacteria in the colon, potentially causing unpleasant symptoms such as gas, diarrhea, constipation, cramps, and bloating.
Jerusalem artichokes are best friends with herbs and spices: rosemary, bay, parsley and pepper, cardamom and nutmeg are the best flavours to add to soups, salads and risottos. They also go hand in hand with citrus, especially the peel; try grating some onto baked Jerusalem artichokes.
Storage. Jerusalem artichokes are not famed for their staying power but should keep for a couple of weeks in the veg locker of a fridge, and inside a paper bag left in a cool, dark place for a little longer. Don't wash them if you want them to keep.
Jerusalem artichoke is a tuber that is being traded as the latest superfood: The root vegetable is said to be particularly filling, slimming and keeps blood sugar levels constant.
They mainly contain inulin, a fermentable fiber that performs multiple beneficial functions in the colon, including bowel movement regulation. Inulin also gives Jerusalem artichokes their sweet flavor. High in potassium and low in sodium, Jerusalem artichokes help stimulate waste elimination.
They are rich in iron to give you energy, along with potassium and vitamin B1, which support your muscles and nerves. Although they're sweet, their starchy fibre stops any spikes in blood sugar levels – indeed they have a lower glycemic index (GI) score than potatoes – and they aren't fattening.
A few small studies have shown that artichoke can improve liver function for people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Though there's no data yet about its effect on alcoholic fatty liver disease, there's evidence that artichoke leaf extract can contribute to overall liver health.
One of their greatest health benefits is that Jerusalem artichokes are really rich in prebiotic fiber, Harrington says. This fiber can help support heart health, glucose control, weight management, and is generally a healthy way to prevent chronic disease, she adds.
Leeks, onions, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, chicory (raw contains greater concentrations) are all good sources of prebiotic fibre, which are the food of choice for friendly bacteria. Kiwis contain a unique prebiotic fibre that has been shown to help with IBS symptoms.
Introduction: My name is Tish Haag, I am a excited, delightful, curious, beautiful, agreeable, enchanting, fancy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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