Artichoke Salad/Artichoke Lemon Soup

The Salad:

1 lb bag frozen artichoke hearts, halved (you can substitute jarred or canned *in water*)
1 lemon, very thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
juice of 1 lemon
1T extra virgin olive oil
pinch grey salt (or sea salt)
freshly ground black pepper

Thaw or drain artichoke hearts.  Halve and place in a large bowl with lemon and onion slices.  Add lemon and olive oil.  Toss and refrigerate overnight.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  Allow to come to room temperature.

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Artichoke lemon soup

Place leftovers in a saucepan.  Add thinly sliced garlic (around 3 gloves).  Add vegetable broth -- just enough to cover artichokes and maybe 1/2 inch.  [If you don't have broth, you can make it with 1/2 onion, 1 carrot and 1 stalk of celery, roughly chopped.  Put in sauce pan with a pinch of salt. Sautee in olive oil until soft.  At 3-4 cups of water and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add artichoke salad].

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and transfer in batches to a blender or food processor.  Pulse until a nice puree.  Be careful -- hot soup expands when you blend it.  Hold a kitchen towel over the lid as you blend.

Serve and top with fresh parsely and/or shaved parmesan cheese.