Artichoke & Shrimp Soup!

artichokes. inspiration came by a segment from the Dr. Oz Show where the grandma, mom & daughter were all, uhm, large. footage of the big italian family passing around food gave a glimpse of stuffed artichokes. from that image came the idea of artichoke & shrimp soup. i’ve eaten it once in new orleans and the difference here would be, the n. o. version had more cream. if that’s what you’re into, add more. the recipe may look intimidating, but it’s broken down into two days, allowing the flavors to meld. this is an upscale, restaurant style soup. thick, flavorful and totally company worthy. here’s how: 

Artichoke & Shrimp Soup
 
you’ll need:

1 pound shrimp, peeled & deveined, shells reserved
1 to 1 ½ quarts chicken or veg stock or a combo
4 tablespoons butter
2 bunches green onions, chopped, white & green
4 ribs celery chopped into small cubes
3 cloves garlic pressed
3 boxes frozen artichoke hearts, 9 oz each
3 tablespoons flour
cayenne pepper, a pinch
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
⅓ cup cognac
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Slap Yo Mama cajun seasoning salt
few grinds of freshly cracked pepper 

you’ll do:

1. peel and devein shrimp, keeping shrimp shells
2. pour 3 cups from a 1 quart box of stock into a medium size pot. on medium heat, add shrimp shells to stock to make a shrimp infused stock
3. in a large heavy pot/dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat
4. add celery and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes
5. add green onion & sauté, for about 3 minutes
6. add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds
7. add frozen artichokes
8. cover and let the artichokes defrost and break apart, about 5 minutes
9. sprinkle mixture with flour and stir to coat well
10. strain shrimp shells from stock & gradually add infused stock to pot, stirring constantly
11. add cayenne, salt, worcestershire, thyme and the remainder of the box quart of stock
12. simmer for 1 hour, covered
13. add cognac and simmer for 10 minutes
14. reduce heat, do not allow soup to boil
15. stir in half & half and milk

cool and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, next day do;

1. preheat oven to 400℉ 
2. heat the soup slowly over low heat
3. add up to a ½ quart of stock to desired consistency. do not thin too much!
4. pat dry shrimp and put in a bowl
5. to the shrimp, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, few grinds of pepper, a teaspoon of cajun seasoning (something like Slap Yo Mama) stir to coat & place shrimp on sheet pan. do not let shrimp touch
6. bake 8 minutes
7. when shrimp are cool enough to handle, slice 6-8 of the smallest and most curled shrimp lengthwise, these will be the garnish for the soup bowls
   
8. chop the remaining shrimp in to small pieces for the soup (1 shrimp = 8 cut pieces)
   
9. add the chopped shrimp to soup just before serving 
10. garnish soup with 2-3 slices of shrimp

eat. 
come on, you can do it.