Artichoke & Blue Cheese Bisque

I have been a very bad blogger! Even though I have not posted for awhile, I have not stopped cooking!

Rachel K. brought back this apron for me from Paris! Thanks Rach! Isn't it adorable?!

I got the idea of making an artichoke bisque after having lunch at Ingredient recently. Their artichoke bisque was creamy and had a little kick to it and I was hooked. While I did not have the recipe I thought that it would be easy to whip one up. I decided to add blue cheese to give it an extra depth of flavor.

Artichoke & Blue Cheese Bisque

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

1/3 cup dry white wine

2 8-oz packages frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese

1 small tomato, diced

homemade croutons, (recipe follows)

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add wine and simmer until all liquid is evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add artichokes, broth and thyme. Simmer until artichokes are tender and begin to fall apart, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Using an immersion blinder, blend soup until smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, blend soup in batches in a blender. Once smooth, stir in blue cheese and cream and whisk constantly, bringing to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add diced tomatoes. Ladle into bowls and server with croutons.

Croutons

1 whole wheat baguette

3 tbsp olive oil

Kosher Salt

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cube baguette and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over bread and toss to coat. Bake until croutons are golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Cool and keep in freezer bag up to a week. Great for salads and soups.

I purchased this apron when I was in Philly, thank you for modeling Spencer! He was my fabulous sous chef that day!