Braised Artichoke And Spinach Soup

I had artichokes leftover from yesterday's Mushroom Bisque recipe and, craving soup again, I was happy to come up with a similar use for it tonight. I decided to do braised artichoke hearts in lemon juice and olive oil, and make a soup out of it, adding some green goodness spinach. Creamy, lemony, comforting, and so good! The method is essentially the same as the Mushroom Bisque recipe, so if you've got artichokes leftover, and all the other ingredients on hand, just do what I did and make this for the next night's dinner :)

Braised Artichoke And Spinach Soup

You will need:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained, halved, and patted completely dry with paper towels
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons good white wine (I used Chardonnay)
1 box chopped frozen spinach, thawed and thoroughly squeezed dry
2 cups vegetable, or chicken stock
3/4 cup cream, or half and half
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon dried parsley
salt if needed

Serves 4 - 6.

Heat olive oil in a shallow skillet on medium heat. Then add artichoke hearts and sprinkle the lemon juice over it, and add black pepper. Let hearts cook for about two minutes, then turn over and let cook on the other side for another two minutes, then remove from heat.
Melt butter in a soup pot on medium heat. Turn heat to low, add onions and garlic. Stir until translucent, about 2 minutes on low heat, careful not to burn. Stir in the artichoke hearts. Then add flour, and allow it to coat the artichoke mixture well. Add the dried herbs, white wine and stir. Add the chopped spinach and stir to combine. Add the stock, milk, and cream. Allow soup to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring every once in a while. Puree the soup either in a food processor in batches, or using an immersion blender. Add pureed soup back to pot on low heat. Let sit on low heat for 10 minutes. Adjust salt if needed (I didn't need to add any). Serve warm. Enjoy!