Creamy (With Not Much Cream) Artichoke Soup (Gluten Free)
Here's a lighter and easy version of an Artichoke Soup, made gluten free if you need it. With less fat in the recipe, but all the delicious flavor.
Equipment
- 1 emulsion blender, blender, Vitamix For pureeing the soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 med onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3-4 large cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper plus more to taste
- 14 oz can artichoke hearts drained and diced, water reserved, or 14 oz. frozen artichoke hearts, or 6-7 small artichokes plus 4 additional cloves garlic - See Note Below*
- 3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth or stock, gluten free
- 1 large handful flat leaf parsley minced
- ½ cup reserved artichoke water or water, or broth, gluten free
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ large avocado pit removed and cut into 2 pieces
- 2 tbsp butter or vegan butter or olive oil
- ⅛ cup cream or half and half or plain Greek yogurt
- minced flat leaf parsley, olive oil, and cream to garnish the top when serving
Instructions
- In a 4 or 5 quart saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and celery. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over, and sauté until soft. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds more.
- Pour in the broth and add the diced artichoke heart pieces. Add the parsley and simmer over low heat, covered with the lid cracked, for 15-20 minutes. Add the lemon juice, avocado, and butter. Continue to simmer for a few more minutes.
- Remove from the burner to cool slightly. Using an emulsion blender, blender, or Vitamix, puree the soup carefully, so as not to splatter, until smooth. You can leave a few small pieces if you like.
- If the soup has cooled down too much, or if you aren't ready to serve yet, simply set aside and bring back to a boil (or close to a boil) just prior to serving. Turn the burner off, add the cream or yogurt, and ladle into small cup size serving bowls. Garnish with a sour cream dollop or a little extra virgin olive oil, or a small drizzle of cream. Add minced parsley to the top and enjoy!
To Prepare Using Fresh Artichokes
- *To use fresh artichokes in the recipe, using small sized artichokes will work the best for this recipe. To prepare, remove the outside leaves and cut off the prickly edges of the leaves, using a sharp knife. Add to a saucepan within ought water to cover and a teaspoon or so of salt, and 4 sliced garlic cloves. Simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Cool enough to handle, then cut each artichoke in half, and remove the inside thistle part of the artichoke near the heart. The tender inner leaves can be used. Cut the hearts and soft leaves into several pieces before adding to the soup. Discard the outer leaves. Use ½ cup of the water from cooking the artichokes in place of the ½ cup of water drained from the canned artichokes.
Notes
Here is a creamy artichoke soup recipe with much less cream and fat. I found that replacing a portion of the cream in the recipe with a half an avocado, delivers a very creamy soup still. I've used a little cream in mine, but you can definitely replace that with Greek yogurt or half and half, or leave it out completely. This is the perfect start to a dinner, and just a small cup (restaurant size) is all you need. Enjoy!
For a dairy free option:
Omit the cream. Add one can of cannellini beans or Northern white beans, draining half the liquid off. You can also omit the avocado or leave in for extra creaminess.