Choked Shrimp Brie Soup: a brief history

On a whim, I picked up some sunchokes at the market even though I had no clue what they were. At home, I looked them up —texture similar to potato, flavor similar to artichoke, can be eaten raw or cooked, with or without the peel, great for creamy soups/dishes— then tossed them in the vegetable bin.

A few nights later, my honey and I had dinner at a restaurant where the special soup du jour was shrimp brie artichoke soup. We melted into love for the soup, and I decided to try to recreate it. I remembered my sunchoke discovery and decided to include them.

After culling for ideas online, I made this. If you love shrimp and cheese, you won’t be sorry I took the time to note the process.

Choked Shrimp Brie Soup: The recipe (or something like a recipe)

Ingredients

1/4 cup Olive Oil (or part olive oil, part butter)

1 cup chopped carrots (2 medium)

1 cup sliced celery (2 stalks)

1 large chopped onion

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup (or more) peeled and chopped (bite-size pieces) sunchokes

1 quart shrimp stock (you can make these with the shrimp heads/peels. See below)

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

salt to taste (I didn’t use any)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups (or more) of peeled and deveined gulf shrimp

1 4 1/2-ounce round Brie cheese (I used more like 6 ounces), rind removed and cut up

Optional

1/2 cup (or more) of artichoke hearts cut into bite-size pieces (fresh is what I used, but thawed frozen could work)

Croutons and/or chives (optional)

Directions

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and sunchokes. Cook and stir till tender. Add shrimp stock, white pepper (and salt). Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add cream and use hand-held blender or masher to cream the mixture (I didn’t completely cream, just a little) Stir in shrimp, artichoke hearts (if you’re using them), and Brie. Cook and stir over medium-low heat about 5 minutes more or till shrimp are pink, soup is heated through, and cheese is melted. (Stir often to make sure soup doesn’t scorch on bottom of saucepan.) Serve topped with croutons and/or chives, if you like.

Makes 8 side-dish or 4 main-dish servings.

SHRIMP STOCK

To make shrimp stock,

Place shrimp heads and peels in about 2 quarts of water.

Add quartered onion, 3-5 cloves of garlic, quartered lemon, bay leaf, peppercorns to taste, and thyme (or any mixture of herbs).

Boil for 10-15 minutes (reduce to 1 quart).

Strain.

©Copyright Pennie Nichols. All Rights Reserved, 2017.

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