Tuscan Artichoke Soup

This wonderful soup is quick and easy to make, using canned artichoke hearts and mostly pantry staples. Creamy and comforting and freezes well. This came from Sue Moran’s website called The View From Great Island which I will be exploring further! Lots of room to improvise here as well; you could add pasta, beans, rotisserie chicken, or cooked sausage. I did add some Italian seasoning and will again. Sue suggests if you wish more color to add a pinch of saffron threads. Really delicious!

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

3 stalks celery, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic (two if very large) minced or crushed

pinch red pepper flakes

28 ounces canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (2 cans)

1/2 cup marinated sun dried tomatoes, sliced

32 ounces chicken stock or broth

1 Tbs. lemon juice

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream ( I used half and half)

1 cup packed fresh spinach (use baby spinach or cut regular spinach into thinner shreds)

1 cup shredded or grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven and sauté the celery, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes for about 5 minutes to soften, stirring often.

Add the artichokes to the pan along with the sun-dried tomatoes, chicken stock, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and simmer another 5 minutes. Stir the spinach into the soup, and then add the cream. Bring back to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Off the heat stir in the cheese, and serve topped with a little more cheese and pepper. Serves 6-8.