Artichoke Soup

During a week-long stay in Sardinia, we had the privilege of being chaperoned by the noted Italian food journalist Gilberto Arru. He took us to some of his favorite restaurants, trattorias where the food is as good as home cooking. One was Trattoria Da Riccardo in Magomadas where we shared an extraordinary artichoke soup. The secret, we were told, was not some unusual ingredient but simply using artichokes at their peak.