Provence Artichoke Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped potatoes
1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 bay leaves
5 cups vegetable stock (or water)
5 artichoke hearts, cut into quarters (14 oz. can or a 9 oz. pkg. frozen artichokes will work)
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1/3 teaspoon crumbled saffron
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
fresh ground black pepper
fresh parsley, chopped
thinly sliced lemon, rounds

Preparation

Warm up the olive oil in a nonreactive soup pot. Add onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, salt, and bay leaves and saute on 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 peel, simmer for another 5 minutes. Season to taste with black pepper. Remove and discard bay leaves.
Serve garnished with the parsley and thin slices of fresh lemon. Enjoy!