Jerusalem artichoke soup with scampi

Preparation -- 10 minutes

Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and cut them into chunks. Cut the shallot into chunks, and chop the garlic. No need to finely cut these ingredients as they will be blended later on.

It's best to use home-made chicken stock, but the store-bought stock will work too.

Rinse and clean the leeks, then cut into small chunks. Preparing the scampi is easy, all you have to do is to peel them and get rid of their intestines. They are located at the back-side of the scampi.

Place them in a bowl with cold water when you have done this. If you're not sure how to do this, you can always use store-bought peeled scampi.

Cooking the Jerusalem artichoke soup -- 30 minutes

Heat olive oil in a large pot and fry the garlic, shallots and artichoke chunks for about 3 to 5 minutes. De-glaze by pouring the chicken stock and let cook for about 20 minutes. Be sure to keep the lid on the pot, otherwise, the dish will lose too much of its moisture.

Puree by using a (rod) blender, the soup is now ready. We recommend using a large pot, so you'll have enough space to work with. Now is a good moment to fry the scampi, plus it's really easy too!

COAT the scampi with some olive oil. Heat a large skillet over medium-high fire. Place the scampi into the pan, and cook them for one minute without touching or moving them. Turn around once and cook for another minute, done!

If you want the soup to be less 'chunky', you can sift it through a siege. Serve by adding some cream to the soup and season with pepper & salt. We've used sturdy food toothpicks for presentation, enjoy!