Chestnut stands in the shopping malls, Grittibänze at the bakery and the first poinsettias in the nursery – the Christmas harbingers have officially arrived! Weren’t we just sitting on the terrace of our favorite bar yesterday with an ice-cold rosé? One * chin-chin * later and we’re still sipping the rosé – but this time in the form of the world’s best mulled wine (psst: you can find the recipe here) – and talking about Christmas cookies, cute dogs in reindeer outfits and this year’s menu for Christmas Eve.
Yes, anticipation within the AYA team for the festival of love is big! Especially because love is known to go through the stomach and food is one of our greatest passions. For this reason, we have made it our AYA mission to provide you with lasting inspiration for this year’s menu design. In the coming weeks, we will publish three special recipes, which together result not only in a perfect Christmas menu, but also emphasize regionality and seasonality.
The opening recipe for this Christmas series is a beguiling Jerusalem artichoke soup that will not only make you and your guests ‘socks’ roll up and down’, but is also prepared in no time at all. Promise!
In the 17th century, the sunflower-related Jerusalem artichoke plant came from North America to Europe, where it initially became a staple food for the poorer population. Visually, the Jerusalem artichoke tuber could be described as a hybrid between potato and ginger; in terms of taste, it surprises with mildly nutty and pleasantly sweet notes, very reminiscent of the artichoke. We love Jerusalem artichokes especially because of its versatility: soups, purees, fried or raw – Jerusalem artichokes always taste good!
So, enough raving, here’s the recipe.
Jerusalem artichoke soup with pear chips
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 800 g Jerusalem artichokes
- 3 tablespoons of clarified butter
- 2 dl sparkling wine we used Tom Litwan’s «Apple Quince» sparkling wine
- 700 ml bone stock or bouillon
- 300 ml full cream
Pear chips
- 2 pears
- 100 g sugar
- 100 ml water
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Pear chips
- Slice the pears approx. 2mm thick
- Mix the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil briefly and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Immediately remove the pot from the stove.
- Dip the pear strips briefly in the sugar water and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Dry for 2 hours at 100C air circulation. Turn several times.
- The chips can be kept airtight for up to two weeks.
Soup
- Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and cut into small pieces.
- Peel the onions and garlic, dice finely and sauté in the clarified butter.
- Add the Jerusalem artichoke pieces and sauté briefly.
- Deglaze with half of the sparkling wine.
- Add bone stock or bouillon and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
- Finely puree the soup, strain through a coarse sieve and put back in the saucepan. Let it simmer again briefly.
- Season to taste with the rest of the sparkling wine, cream and salt and pepper.
- Spread the soup on preheated plates and garnish with the pear chips.
- Enjoy!
