Cream Of Artichoke Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups red onions (chopped)
1 1/2 cups potatoes (chopped)
1 1/2 cups carrots (chopped)
3/4 cup celery (chopped)
3 teaspoons garlic (minced)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 bay leaves
5 cups chicken stock
9 ounces frozen artichokes
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1/3 teaspoon saffron
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon parsley
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 cups marinated artichokes

Preparation

In a 3 quart sauce pot add onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic salt, and bay leaves and saute over medium heat 10 minutes, stirring often. Add stock and bring to boil; then lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Add artichoke hearts, sherry, and saffron to soup pot and continue simmering for 5 minutes.
Now stir in the lemon juice, orange juice, and orange & lemon zest, simmer for another 5 minutes. Season to taste with black pepper. Remove and discard bay leaves, and take a hand held blender to the soup and puree till everything is blended.
At serving time ladle soup into bowl and arrange 4 quartered marinated artichokes in the center of the bowl along with 1 heaping tsp of sour cream. Drizzle 1 tsp of the marinated artichoke oils over the soup and serve.