Artichoke Soup

This is a reworking of Cannon's Artichoke Soup. Most Artichoke Soups you find in New Orleans have Oysters in them. I also happened to work at the first restaurant to serve Oyster and Artichoke Soup, LeRuth's. Warren Leruth was the best chef from the New Orleans area. He started his career developing recipes for Proctor and Gamble. He developed Green Goddess dressing for Wishbone. After 20 years of the best restaurant in New Orleans, he ended his career doing consulting work for many restaurant chains, like Popeye's and Outback.

Artichoke Soup

6 cups Quartered Artichoke Hearts (Reserve Liquid)

½ gal Chicken Stock or Broth

¾ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

½ Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

½ Teaspoon Hot Sauce

1 cup Diced Onions

1 Cup Chopped Green Onions

½ Tablespoon Oregano

½ Teaspoon Thyme

½ Teaspoon Salt

½ Tablespoon White Pepper

1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic

2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar

3 Sticks Butter

¾ cup Flour

3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Melt butter and sauté onions until transparent. Add green onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Mix chicken stock and artichoke juice. Add flour to onions and stir with a wire whisk. Cook for 2 miuntes. Add stock mixture and stir.  Add artichokes, lemon juice and Parmesan Cheese and stir. Add Worcestershire Sauce, hot sauce, oregano, thyme, salt, white pepper, granulated garlic, and brown sugar, sprinkling all of the ingredients over the entire area of soup to avoid clumping.  Cook for 10 minutes on low temperature. You can add 3 pints of oysters during the last five minutes.

Enjoy