ARTICHOKE SOUP

Honestly speaking, I don't know much about artichoke except for a few occasions where I had it on my pizza and pasta. Artichokes are expensive in Malaysia and not knowing how to cook it, I never bother to explore further. We were doing our weekend grocery shopping at Woolworths and came across a whole bin of artichokes for less than a dollar each! Brother-in-law told me that artichokes can lower cholesterol level and is very high with nutritional values. And hence, we grabbed some home.


When bro-in-law suggested artichoke soup, I was expecting thick creamy Western-style soup. But surprise surprise, it turned out to be the clear Chinese-style soup that I always love. As he was away at work, I was given the task to prepare the soup for dinner. For about 3 liters of water, I used 2 florets of artichoke. Cut off the stem and divide the artichoke bud into half.


Give it a good rinse to discard any dirt in the center of the bud.


As for the meat to go with the soup, it is entirely up to you. I have tried using both chicken and pork on separate occasion. Personally I always prefer chicken soup for the sweet chic aroma. On my next attempt, I shall throw in some dried scallops, dried octopus or even dried oysters. I can already imagine how good the soup will turn out to be. Yumzz! Anyway, the picture below was the meat I used for the artichoke soup on my second attempt. Why I put this picture up instead of the chicken?? Well...spot that dark maroon colour piece of liver-lookalike thingy? Try guessing which part of a pig it belongs to???


I was horrified when I saw it. It looked like a long long piece of tongue!!! Bro-in-law told me it was some sort of a pig's internal organ. I was not convinced! I guess he didn't want to scare me off but I am pretty sure it was a piece of pig's tongue. The smell when cooked was exactly like pig's liver. I didn't dare to eat it and I was told the texture is like spongey loofah.


Simmer the artichokes and meat in a pot of boiling water on low fire for 2 hours. Season with a little bit of salt and tada....a very nutritionous bowl of clear and sweet artichoke soup. Absolutely perfect on cold rainy days.


While I was googling for artichoke recipe, I came across some really interesting photos. I have never heard of artichoke flowers before...aren't they beautiful???

Picture taken from HERE


Picture taken from Wikipedia.


Now now..back to googling to see how I can plant this in my farm....not Pea Farm in Malaysia but my new farm in Melbourne which I am going to share with you soon.

Have a good weekend!!!!