We’re so excited to be soup! We are Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes/topinambours), japanese yam, celery, carrots, leeks, ginger and some chopped up carrot greens, because apparently I forgot to pick up the spinach I was planning to use. I looked around frantically for a greens stand-in and then the carrot greens looked at me all smiles saying “we won’t be bitter, we swear!” So I sautéed all in saucepan with a non-shy amount of butter. Added water, as needed and then some homemade chicken stock.
(Recipe below)

Then, everyone jumped into the blender and mixed and mingled very nicely. I decided, this time to go for a more refined soup and strained the liquid through a sieve. Then, a touch of salt and a healthy couple dashings of cream (anything between half-and-half and 35% will do nicely).

And I give you, a Little Ninja Chef original creation: Velouté of Jerusalem artichoke, Japanese yam, carrot, celery, leek, carrot greens, homemade chicken broth and a touch of cream. Slightly awesome. And true to their word, the carrot greens were not bitter at all, they were fab.

Velvet Jerusalem Soup (serves 4)

4-5 Jerusalem artichokes, peeled (as best you can, those things are knobby!) and finely chopped
3 medium carrots
the carrot top greens of the 3 carrots, finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, finely sliced
1 medium Japanese yam, peeled and diced (or sweet potato)
1 leek, finely sliced (just the white part)
1-inch piece finely sliced fresh ginger
2 cups of chicken stock*
2-3 Tbsp butter*
1/2-3/4 cup cream (15% is preferred, but I only had half-and-half in the fridge, 35% is also a delicious option)*
water as needed
salt to taste

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and toss in the leeks. Stir for about a 1.5 minutes and add in all the other vegetables. Cover with a bit of water and let cook until the toughest of the veggies has started to become soft. Add in the chicken broth and a 1/4 cup of water and simmer until all the veggies are now soft.

Pour the mixture into a blender and blend happily away. Strain the soup through a sieve/cheesecloth/food mill to thin the liquid. Use a fork to get as much liquid out as possible. Simmer the soup very gently for 2 minutes adding the cream and salt to taste.

Ladle into bowls, garnish with fresh herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and fresh ground pepper and begin enjoying immediately!

*Vegetarian/Vegan option: use olive oil instead of butter, veggie or onion broth instead of chicken and coconut milk instead of cream.