Sunchoke Lemongrass And Leek Soup

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large leek, divided, sliced across the width in thin strips, white and light green parts only
• 4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed, and minced
• 2 stalks lemongrass, smashed and cut in two to fit in the pot (they need to be easy to retrieve before pureeing the soup)
• 1 pound sunchokes, well-scrubbed to remove most of the skin and sliced 1/8" thick
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• lemon zest to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon chives, minced

1. Important: See the notes above in the summary for prepping tips for the sunchokes. This can take 20-30 minutes to do for 1 lb of sunchokes, so this should be done first. Slice fairly thinly and soak in lemon water to keep them from turning color.
2. Melt the butter in a soup pot and saute one-half of the leeks and all of the shallots, garlic, and lemongrass until the leeks and shallots are soft and the mixture is very aromatic (about 10-15 minutes).
3. Add the sunchokes and mix to thoroughly cover the sunchokes with the leeks lemongrass mixture. Cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the broth and bring to a simmer until the sunchokes are tender (about 40 minutes). If you don't have any broth, you can use water. Remove the lemongrass stalks and puree the soup in a blender until very smooth. Pour back into the soup pot and reheat. Add the cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add lemon zest to taste.
5. For a garnish, I fried the other half of the leek strips in olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice until they were fairly crispy. I topped the soup with a pinch of them and a few minced chives.

unsalted butter, only, shallots, garlic, stalks lemongrass, skin, vegetable, heavy cream, ground nutmeg, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, lemon zest, chives

Taken from food52.com/recipes/3051-sunchoke-lemongrass-and-leek-soup (may not work)