Jerusalem artichoke and smoked salmon velouté

Serves: 4 
Difficulty: Easy

Delpeyrat and Saint Jean’s recipe for this delicious, creamy velouté puts an all-too-often overlooked vegetable – the Jerusalem artichoke – centre stage. Perfect as a starter for Christmas dinner or as a light lunch or supper over the festive season, this gorgeous soup looks as though it’s decorated with tiny Christmas trees and is guaranteed to put a smile on the face of your guests. 

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Ingredients

• 4 slices of smoked salmon  
• 400g Jerusalem artichokes 
• 1 leek (white only) 
• 1 lard potato 
• 100g unsmoked lardons  
• 1/2 litre vegetable stock 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 20 cl crème fraîche  
• 1 tsp pink peppercorns 
• A few springs of dill 

Directions

1Wash and peel Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes.

2Cut them into pieces.

3Wash the white of the leek and chop it.

4Heat the oil in a large saucepan.

5Fry the leek and lardons for 5 minutes.

6Add the Jerusalem artichokes and potato pieces.

7Cover with stock.

8Cook for 30 minutes.

9Blitz the soup in a blender and add the crème fraîche.

10Fill 4 soup plates.

11Place salmon slices and decorate with pink peppercorns and dill sprigs. Serve immediately.