Today was one wet day. The wind and rain would not ease up. It's a good soup day. When the weather turns cooler, I like to make a big pot of soup and leave it in the refrigerator for a quick lunch or dinner. Pureed vegetable soups are easy and a good way to use up miscellaneous vegetables you have in the cooler. Best part, you don't even need a recipe. You just have to follow some basic steps and you are on your way to making some of the most flavorful soups.
First, start with any type of allium such as onions, leeks, shallots or scallions. You want to slowly sweat them in some type of fat. For this particular soup, I caramelized the onions. By slowly cooking the onions in olive oil, the natural sugars in the onion caramelizes, intensifying the flavor of the onions.
Pour in water or stock until the vegetables are covered. If you want your pureed soups to be on the thicker side, you can add a small potato. Since the sunchokes are starchy, they will help thicken the soup. Simmer the soup until the vegetables are tender. During the cooking process if the water has evaporated, you can add in more stock or water. Season with salt and pepper.
