I love stumbling upon lesser known culinary gems.
This right here is one of the great soups of New Orleans & once you've taken a bite, it rapidly rises to the status of one of the great soups of all time!
The original version was the gift of the late Chef Warren LeRuth which is now a staple on nearly every restaurant menu in the city! I gotta tell you, I love New Orleans.
Take this for example, I live in a city that has plenty of statues in honor of great men inwar, fallen heroes and political leaders. House of Cards people!
But in New Orleans, you'll come across statues of Warren LeRuth, a chef! And schools named after him too. How cool is that!
You know you've got to love a city that get's it right by building statues honoring a person for his great food. You can see why this would appeal to me...chuckle...
So anyway, let me just tell you, this is a recipe that would be wonderful at a dinner party. Vegetarians can just omit the oyster (gasp!) and you'd still have something incredible. The smokiness from the artichokes is enough to bring me to song and dance.
Yes, it has a bit of cream...hence I said, dinner party or special occasion. As much as I love a good ole' southern Oyster stew, after this, there's a new sheriff in town, folks!
So trust me and give it a go!
PS: Best made the earlier evening or in the morning & refrigerated in time for dinner.
Gather the ingredients,
1 stick - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 large yellow onion, (to yield 1-1/2 cups finely chopped), 1 bunch green onions, chopped, 2 ribs celery, (to yield 1 cup finely chopped), 4 cloves garlic, peeled, 2 qty 12-oz. packages frozen artichoke hearts, quartered - defrosted, ¼ cup all purpose flour, 1 carton good quality or home made chicken stock (4 cups), ½ tsp Cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp fresh thyme or dried thyme in a pinch, 2 pints oysters, drained with reserve liquor, 1/3 cup sherry, 1 cup heavy cream & 1 cup milk
Onions: Peel, discard ends and finely chop.
Green onions: Cut the woody bottom and discard. Chop into circles and set aside.
Celery: Cut and discard 2” bottom and brown top and leaves if any. Cut into long thin strips and finely chop.
Garlic: Crush and chop. Set aside.
In a heavy bottom pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add both chopped onions, celery, garlic and ½ tsp salt. Sauté' for 8-10 minutes until soft.
Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and stir to coat the vegetables well. Continue to sauté for a few minutes but do not let the flour brown.
Add the artichokes and sauté for 5 minutes or so.
Add the stock, cayenne, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Stir and taste and adjust seasonings.
Over high heat bring the soup to a heavy simmer. Cover with a lid allowing steam to escape through a small gap and simmer for 45 minutes over low heat.
Stir off and on to prevent the soup from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add the oysters, oyster liquor, and sherry and simmer for 7-10 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and milk. Warm through but do not allow the soup to boil.
Cool and refrigerate for at least 8 hours if not the next day allowing all the flavors to meld.
Before serving, heat the soup slowly over low heat & serve warm.
Enjoy!
Recipe for
Oyster & Artichoke Soup
Shopping list:
1 stick - 1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, (to yield 1-1/2 cups finely chopped)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 ribs celery, (to yield 1 cup finely chopped)
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 qty 12-oz. packages frozen artichoke hearts, quartered - defrosted
¼ cup all purpose flour
1 carton good quality or home made chicken stock (4 cups)
½ tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp fresh thyme or dried thyme in a pinch
2 pints oysters, drained with reserve liquor
1/3 cup sherry
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
Preparation:
Onions: Peel, discard ends and finely chop.
Green onions: Cut the woody bottom and discard. Chop into circles and set aside.
Celery: Cut and discard 2” bottom and brown top and leaves if any. Cut into long thin strips and finely chop.
Garlic: Crush and chop. Set aside.
Method:
In a heavy bottom pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add both chopped onions, celery, garlic and ½ tsp salt. Sauté' for 8-10 minutes until soft.
Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and stir to coat the vegetables well. Continue to sauté for a few minutes but do not let the flour brown. Add the artichokes and sauté for 5 minutes or so.
Add the stock, cayenne, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Stir and taste and adjust seasonings.
Over high heat bring the soup to a heavy simmer. Cover with a lid allowing steam to escape through a small gap and simmer for 45 minutes over low heat.
Stir off and on to prevent the soup from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add the oysters, oyster liquor, and sherry and simmer for 7-10 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and milk. Warm through but do not allow the soup to boil.
Cool and refrigerate for at least 8 hours if not the next day allowing all the flavors to meld.
Before serving, heat the soup slowly over low heat & serve warm.
Enjoy!
