Rinse and peel the Jerusalem artichokes (but don’t worry about the odd bit of skin if they are a bit too knobbly to peel evenly). Chop into small chunks. Peel and finely chop the onion. Scrub the carrot and cut into small pieces. Peel and crush or finely chop the garlic cloves.

Pour 1 tbsp oil into a pan and bring to a medium heat. Slide in the chopped onion, garlic and carrot along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 mins, stirring occasionally, till the veg start to soften and brown.

Add the artichokes to the pan and crumble in the stock cube. Pour in 750ml boiling water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 15-20 mins, till the Jerusalem artichokes are tender.

While the soup is cooking, thinly slice the mushrooms and pick the thyme leaves off their woody stalks.

Use a stick blender to whizz the soup till smooth. No stick blender? Simply transfer the soup to a blender (in batches if needed) and blitz. Pour the soup back into the pan and keep warm.

Pour 1 tbsp oil into a frying pan and bring to a medium-high heat. Slide in the mushrooms, thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 4-5 mins, turning once or twice, till golden.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the fried mushrooms. Crack over a little pepper and serve.