Artichoke carrot vegetarian soup
Serves 6-8:
Ingredients:
6-8 fresh green artichokes (leaves trimmed, hearts cleaned)
4-6 carrots (scrubbed, washed, quartered, sliced finely)
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
Juice of 4 large lemons
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp cooking oil
Salt + pepper
Solution for Trimmed Artichokes:
3 litres salted tap water
2 tbsp plain flour
Juice of 3 large lemons
Skin of squeezed lemon halves
Method:
Trim and clean artichokes. Quarter each heart. Place them in prepared solution. Heat a wide large cooking pot on high-medium. Add oil. Stir flour into oil to form an emulsion. Stir until flour cooks and slightly changes colour. Add juice away from heat while stirring; just like cooking béchamel. Add four cups of hot water and the bouillon cubes. Season to taste. Stir to slightly thicken. Add artichoke quarters; strained from the solution, to the soup. Discard solution. Add prepared carrot. Bring to the boil. Lower heat to low. Allow to simmer and cook for 20 minutes; adding more hot water to cover contents. Vegetables will be al dente. If desired to acquire a softer bite; increase cooking time. Serve with extra lemon halves aside at table.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 2 April, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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