Creamy Artichoke and Sunchoke Soup

• Recipe by Michael White

Ingredients

1. 1 lemon, halved
2. 4 large artichokes, stemmed
3. 1 pound sunchokes
4. 1/4 cup olive oil
5. 1/4 pound chopped pancetta
6. 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
7. 1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
8. 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
9. 3 garlic cloves, minced
10. 2 marjoram sprigs
11. 2 thyme sprigs
12. 1/2 cup dry white wine
13. About 4 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
14. 1/4 cup heavy cream
15. Salt and freshly ground white pepper Crusty bread, for serving 

Directions

1. Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl of cold water and add the lemon halves. Using a sharp knife, halve the artichokes crosswise. Discard the tops. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, pull off all the outer green leaves until you reach the tender yellow leaves. Trim off the dark green skin. Scrape out the hairy choke with a teaspoon, then quarter the heart and drop it into the lemon water. 
2. Peel and coarsely chop the sunchokes. Add them to the artichokes in the lemon water. 
3. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil. Add the pancetta, onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the artichokes and sunchokes and add them to the casserole along with the marjoram and thyme and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the white wine and boil until almost evaporated. 
4. Add 4 cups of chicken stock to the casserole and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Discard the herb sprigs. Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. 
5. In a blender, puree the soup until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add the remaining 1/2 cup of stock and rewarm. Season with salt and white pepper and serve hot, with crusty bread.