Recipe - Oyster And Artichoke Soup

6 md Artichokes
4 cup Chicken stock
One half cup Unsalted butter
2 Leeks; split and cut or sliced up
2 Stalks celery; coarsely
chopped
4 Shallots; chopped
2 Cloves garlic; minced
1 cup Cooked rice
One fourth teaspoon Thyme
One fourth teaspoon Basil
One fourth teaspoon Cayenne pepper
2 cup Raw oysters; in their own
juice
1 cup Cream
Lemon slices; for garnish

Place artichokes and stock in a 2 to 3gallon pot over medium heat and
cook until artichokes are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove artichokes and
let cool; reserve the cooking liquid. Remove leaves (if desired, scrape the
soft pulp off and addit to the soup with the chopped hearts; or save the
leaves to serve cold with a vinaigrette). Cut out the fiberous chokes;
coarsely chop the hearts.

In a 12inch frying pan over mediium heat, melt butter. Add leeks, celery,
shallots and garlic and cook until they are soft, about 20 minutes. Add the
artichokecooking liquid, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook 20
minutes. Add rice, thyme, basil and cayenne.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook oysters in their own juice until
plump (2 to 3 minutes). Add half the oysters and half the chopped artichoke
hearts to the soup. In a food processor, blender or food mill, puree the
soup in batches. Add cream and strain soup through a sieve; gently warm
soup.

To serve, place one reserved oyster and 1 tablespoon of the remaining
chopped artichoke hearts in each soup bowl. Ladle in the soup and garnish
with lemon slices.

NOTES : Tucked in the heart of historic Colfax, Madonna's Classic Kitchen
brings bigcity flavors to the foothills. Locals frequent the restaurant
for a taste of innovative cuisine rarely found in small towns and
outoftownersstop in to enjoy the cozy atmosphere. Regarding his recipe
for Oyster and Artichoke Soup, Chef Allen Levesque says, "This elegant soup
is a great starter for that special dinner. I came up with this recipe
while researching for a demonstration dinner on the foods of Louisiana.
Don't compromise the flavor of this soup by using frozen or canned
artichokes and oysters," he cautions. "This soup is quite richbest
served in small servings." From an article in the Auburn (CA) Journal,
November 19, 1997.
Recipe by: Chef Allen Levesque, Madonna's Classic Kitchen, Colfax, CA

Posted to recipeludigest by "Crane C. Walden" cranew@foothill.net on Mar
2, 1998