Cream of Artichoke Soup

Ingredients

• 4 whole artichokes
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 0.5 cups dry vermouth
• 1 potato , diced
• 1 small carrot , diced
• 1 onion , chopped
• 1 small stalk celery , diced
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 2 bays leaves
• 0.5 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 4 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
• salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Steam globe artichokes in 2 cups of water until tender, about 45 minutes. Reserve the cooking liquid and set artichokes aside until cool enough to handle.

2. 2

   Scrape the flesh from the bottom third of each leaf and place in medium soup pot along with the artichoke liquid.

3. 3

   Remove fuzzy choke from each artichoke bottom and discard.

4. 4

   Coarsely dice the artichoke bottoms and place in the soup pot. Add chicken stock, vermouth, potato, carrot, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and marjoram. Simmer until vegetables are very tender and liquid is reduced by 1/3, about 45 minutes.

5. 5

   Remove bay leaves and puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth.

6. 6

   Stir in cream and cheese until just heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with croutons on top.