Artichoke Edamame Bisque: A Veg-Friendly 'Souper Bowl' for Souper (Soup, Salad and Sammie) Sundays

"And Mangoes rained down from above..." I think that sounds much more poetic than "I was bent over getting salmon from the bottom shelf of the freezer when a bag of frozen mango fell down from the top and hot me on the head..." Regardless, it was a clear sign that some freezer cleaning and purging was needed and that lead me to this soup from one of my most-used veg-friendly cookbooks, "Carb-Conscious Vegetarian" by Robin Robertson--full of quick and easy recipes. 

  
The recipe for Artichoke Edamame Bisque put a couple of boxes of frozen artichoke hearts and a bag of shelled edamame to use in a healthy way.

Robertson says, "Save time by using frozen artichoke and shelled edamame for this luscious soup that has a creamy green color with the consistency of potato-leek soup. This is one you'll want to make for company."

Artichoke Edamame Bisque
Carb-Conscious Vegetarian by Robin Robertson
(Serves 6)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
4 cups vegetable stock, + more if needed
2 (10 oz each) packages frozen artichoke hearts
1 1/2 cups fresh of frozen shelled edamame
1 bay leaf
salt
ground red pepper flakes
(I added 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice)

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery, cover, and cooked until softened--about 5 minutes. Add vegetable stock, artichokes, edamame, bay leaf, salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until the veggies are tender--about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf. Using a slotted spoon, remove several edamame to use as a garnish. 

Using and immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender), puree the soup until smooth. Add more stock if soup is too thick and taste and adjust seasoning. (For a silkier texture you can strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve before serving.)

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with the reserved edamame.

Nutritional Data (Per Serving): 181 calories, 7g fat, 12g protein, 20g carbohydrates, 10g fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 366mg sodium   

Notes/Results: A wonderfully rich and creamy soup with no dairy or saturated fat. The taste of the edamame hits first, then the tangy taste of the artichoke hearts comes in at the end with a little heat from the ground pepper. The protein and fiber keep it satisfying. I wanted more acidity in the bowl so I added some fresh lemon juice which did the trick. A quick soup to toss together from the pantry that tastes great--I would make it again.

It's a quiet Souper Bowl Sunday in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week but Tigerfish and Janet are here to keep me company--so let's take a look.

Tigerfish of Teczcape-An Escape to Food shares this aromatic bowl and says, "This Pork Miso Soup is new to me, as it is my first attempt cooking this soup and tasting it for the first time. So hearty and delicious. Leaning towards Chinese-style cooking, the soup base is made from pork bones, onions and ginger. ... Using miso at the end to meld all the flavors together giving it a savory depth makes the dish similar to Japanese Pork Miso Soup. Indeed, this Pork Miso Soup is adapted from the Japanese Pork Miso Soup also known as Tonjiru - a traditional Japanese pork soup, made with miso and root vegetables which in this adaptation, the choice of root vegetables were carrots, potatoes and chayote."

Janet of The Taste Space brings a hearty Tomato Red Lentil Soup with Dill and says, "With the imminent cold weather, I am sharing another warming soup. Red lentils are a perfect blank canvas for a hearty meal. Pureed tomatoes and red lentils are combined with cauliflower and brown rice in a broth spiced with cumin, mustard and dill. I never would have thought to combine those flavours together but the dill really brightened the dish. This is an excellent soup!"

It was a two-soup week for me at Kahakai Kitchen so I thought I would share the Miso Soup with Tofu Oyster Mushroom and Baby Kale that I made earlier in the week to accompany a book review. Both the simple soup, savory and soothing, and the book (the epic and haunting "The Gods of Heavenly Punishment" by Jennifer Cody Epstein) were standouts. ;-) 

Thanks to Janet and Tigerfish for joining in this week. If you have a soup, salad, or a sandwich that you would like to share--just click on the Souper Sundays logo on my sidebar for all of the details.

Have a happy, healthy week!