Creamy Artichoke, Mushroom & Leek Barigoule Recipe

I’m not sure I’ve ever tried a “barigoule” before. From what I’ve gathered, it’s a dish that uses braised artichokes, mushrooms and root vegetables, such as carrots, beets or parsnips. It’s a shame I’ve never tried something like this because it’s wonderful. I think I wrote about how much I love adding ingredients to a large Dutch oven while cooking, so this type of recipe is right up my ally.

The Recipe

This isn’t a difficult dish to put together at all. There are quite a few ingredients, but most of them are very down to earth. In any grocery store, you’re sure to find olive oil parsnips, artichokes and things like that. There also isn’t much in the way of prep either. Some cutting here and peeling there is all it consists of.

The flavor of this dish is awesome. It’s mellow but very tasty. The texture is chunky yet smooth and it reminds me of something I’d either eat while sitting on a stone patio in the south of France or at the table on Thanksgiving day right here in Maine. I supposed it’s the way you look at it. All in all, this is a great dish that’s easy to put together that that’s sure to please.

Ingredients

Serves: 6

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Cups Jarred Baby Artichokes, Quartered
12 Ounces White Mushrooms, Cleaned and Sliced
1 Leek, Cleaned, Trimmed and Sliced into 1/2 Inch Pieces
4 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
2 Anchovy Fillets, Minced
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Dry White Wine
6 Cups Vegetable Broth
6 Ounces Parnsips, Trimmed, Peeled and Cut into 1/2 Inch Pieces
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream or Coconut Milk
2 Teaspoons Dried Tarragon
1 Teaspoon White Wine Vinegar
Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

Since this is a barigoule, please feel free to add anything you’d like to this recipe. Onions, parsley, fennel, celery, carrots or cauliflower – anything in that type of a family. You can even start over from scratch if you want. Just remember, a barigoule is a soup that braises artichokes, uses root vegetables and also uses broth and wine as a base. Use your imagination or look for more recipes online. There are tons of them.

I’d like to thank America’s Test Kitchen and their incredible resource called The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook for this recipe. This is a good one and I’m proud to share it on this website.

Prep the Vegetables

Since you’ll need to do some prepping, you may as well finish it all up before doing anything else. As I did mine, I snapped a few photos.

First, I rinsed off the baby artichokes and put them in a medium sized bowl.

Next, I cleaned and sliced up all the mushrooms.

Then, I trimmed, cleaned (very well because of sand) and sliced the leek.

And finally, I trimmed, peeled and cut up the parsnips.

After that , I was ready to begin cooking.

Brown the Artichokes

Warm a large Dutch oven over medium heat. When the pot is to temperature, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to it and also add in the artichokes.

Cook for about 10 minutes while stirring occasionally until the edges of the artichoke hearts begin to brown. When they do, scoop them out of the pot and place them in a bowl for later use.

Cook the Mushrooms

Now that the Dutch oven is empty, add another tablespoon of oil to it and then add in the mushrooms. Cook, while stirring, for about 10 minutes or until the mushrooms have released their liquid and have become tender.

Cook the Leeks

Next, add the leeks and 1 more tablespoon of olive oil to the mushrooms and continue to cook until the leeks are soft. This should take approximately 10 more minutes.

Add Remaining Ingredients

Now comes the time to add some of the smaller, less prominent ingredients. With the mushrooms and leeks still in the pot, add the garlic, anchovies, thyme and flour. Stir everything together and cook for 2 minutes. Then, add the white wine, stir and cook for another 2 minutes.

After that, add the vegetable broth, artichokes and parsnips to the pot.

Increase the heat to high until the liquid begins to boil. When it does, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low and let everything cook for 20 minutes. This should soften up the parsnips.

Finally, when that’s finished, turn off the heat and add in the cream, tarragon, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.

Plate & Serve

You may have noticed from the photos above that I doubled up on the ingredients. Don’t let that throw you off. Go ahead an divide your barigoule between your bowls and serve hot.

The Final Artichoke Barigoule

I think this soup came out very well. It uses rustic ingredients and for some reason, I’m drawn to them. This is definitely on my “to do again” list. Enjoy and thanks for reading!