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Jerusalem Artichokes/Sunchokes

docsconz

By docsconz
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docsconz

docsconz

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I roasted small whole jerusalem artichokes with shallots and olive oil tonight and now I know why they are called artichokes even though they most certainly are not of the same family. the taste and texture were amazingly reminiscent of fresh steamed artichoke hearts. The jerusalems were amazing. They were sweet and marvellously tasty. They were so easy to do. I had a fairly uniform small size, put them in a pan unpeeled with diced shallot, EVOO and pepper and roasted them in a convection oven at 400 degrees for about a half hour.

What other preparations does anyone recommend. I have to go back to my local farmer's market and get some more!

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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SethG

SethG

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Funny, I had a similar awakening to JAs this weekend. I found a recipe somewhere on the web that had you simmer them, peeled, in a mixture of water and wine for an hour, then add mushrooms and lemon slices for another 20 minutes.

I thought they were good, but your roasting experience sounds better!

By the way, most of the JA recipes on the web seemed to be for soups.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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slbunge

slbunge

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I sort of got hooked on Jerusalem Artichokes when we belonged to a CSA several years ago.

One memorable recipe we tried was Jerusalem Artichoke and Sage Gratin in the November 1994 Gourmet (recipe at epicurious). Perfect for autumn dinner. Most of the time, we roasted the sunchokes with other root vegetables after tossing with EVOO, some kosher salt, and a bit of fresh rosemary.

I also have a cookbook put together by the Madison, WI CSA Coalition that compiles recipes from various sources for the vegetables that are found in the boxes. Sort of answers the questions of "what the hell do I do with all of these Jerusalem Artichoke/celariac/parsnip/turnip/rutabaga." In that cookbook the following recipes are included with the original source in parentheses and a couple of comments where I have tried the results:

Glazed Sunchokes (Harmony Valley Farm )

Roasted Carrot and Sunchoke Soup (Odessa Piper, L'Etoile Restaruant) -- simple and very good

Lacy JA Pancakes (Victory Garden Cookbook) -- sort of like an earthy potato pancake, good with applesauce

Baked Sunchokes with Orange Butter (Roots: The Underground Cookbook)

Rutachoke Salad (Winter Harvest Cookbook)

New Potato and JA Salad (The Goodness of Potatoes and Root Vegetables)

Pureed JA in Tomato Shells (Victory Garden Cookbook)

Innesfree JA Soup (Winter Harvest Cookbook)

Crisp Sauteed Chokes (Victory Garden Cookbook)

JA Cheese Soup (Victory Garden Cookbook)

Sunchokes Au Gratin (Harmony Valley Farm)

JA Salad (Madison Herb Society Cookbook)

Spinach Dip with Sunchokes (Roots a Vegetarian Bounty)

Lynn Wilson's Marinated JA (Victory Garden Cookbook)

If you want any of the detailed recipes, just let me know.

Stephen Bunge

St Paul, MN

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SethG

SethG

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Before you decide that you can't get enough Jerusalem artichokes, you should know that, for many people, they rival beans as a cause of flatulence.

I will have no comment on this aspect of the JA experience! :smile:

What if you cook them with epazote, Dave? Would that make a difference?

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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malcolmjolley

malcolmjolley

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Before you decide that you can't get enough Jerusalem artichokes, you should know that, for many people, they rival beans as a cause of flatulence.

Love the taste, but they're pretty hard on my system. My wife and will not go out after eating them (always par boiled, then roasted or sauteed.

CanCon trivia: they were "first noted" by Champlain and can be classified as a truly Canadian veggie.

Malcolm Jolley

Gremolata.com

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Dave the Cook

Dave the Cook

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What if you cook them with epazote, Dave?  Would that make a difference?

Does epazote work, even for beans? I thought that had been discredited, but I could be wrong.

The cause is the same as it is for beans: an abundance of oligosaccharides. The modern human intestine has no way to break them down. Two two basic solutions apply: either 1) eat more JAs (and beans, too, for that matter), which, over time, conditions the digestive tract to process the sugars; 2) roast them for a very long time -- if memory serves, we're talking 18 to 24 hours.

Someone with ready access to McGee's The Curious Cook might be able to elaborate (or correct) on option 2. As I recall, one of the chapters is called something like Taking the Wind Out of the Sunchoke.

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

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  • 1 year later...
Bond Girl

Bond Girl

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Basically, I'd scrub and peel them, slice them very thin, and mixed them in with potatoes and make a gratin out of them (some gruyere cheese and bread crumbs). They are harder and take longer to cook than potatoes so I'd par boil them longer. Cook them in some stock and turn them into soups with an immersion blender. Slice them thin and make crisp out of them. I even braise them very slowly until they are tender and use them in my vegetable couscous. I can send you recipes in a PM if you like.

Ya-Roo Yang aka "Bond Girl"

The Adventures of Bond Girl

I don't ask for much, but whatever you do give me, make it of the highest quality.

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jackal10

jackal10

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The ones I grow aren't harder than potaoes. More knobbly, perhaps, but that depends on variety. They tend to fall to pieces when boiled.

Keep them in acidulated water when peeling to prevent blackening.

They are delicious roast, or puree, or pureed into soup, tasting almost smoky.

You can use the puree as the basis of many dishes - souflee for example.

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slbunge

slbunge

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Roasting them simply coated lightly in olive oil with a bit of salt is my favorite. I usually scrub them and cut into chunks and forget trying to peel them.

Stephen Bunge

St Paul, MN

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nr706

nr706

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Jerusalem artichokes are quite tasty, but don't eat them for dinner if you are planning to spend time in an enclosed space, like an airplane, or in car with your boss or new love interest.

They tend to cause deadly flatulence. :hmmm:

Harold McGee's book The Curious Cook has an entire chapter about Jerusalem Artichokes, called "Taking the Wind Out of the Sunroot." He lists cold storage, slicing/boiling for 15 minutes, or (for maximum elimination of gas) cooking for 24 hours.

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Sackville

Sackville

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Jerusalem artichokes are quite tasty, but don't eat them for dinner if you are planning to spend time in an enclosed space, like an airplane, or in car with your boss or new love interest.

They tend to cause deadly flatulence. :hmmm:

Harold McGee's book The Curious Cook has an entire chapter about Jerusalem Artichokes, called "Taking the Wind Out of the Sunroot." He lists cold storage, slicing/boiling for 15 minutes, or (for maximum elimination of gas) cooking for 24 hours.

I will have to try those methods! I happen to be, ummmm, shall we say prone to flatulence :unsure:

I wonder if you could parboil to get rid of some of the "wind" and then roast? I really like the idea of roasting them!

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culinary bear

culinary bear

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Soup, definitely soup... No need to peel them, just scrub in several changes of cold water to get the dirt out.

Slice, saute with a white mirepoix, bay, thyme, garlic, add vegetable stock, cream, puree, and season. Simple and strong flavours.

Allan Brown

"If you're a chef on a salary, there's usually a very good reason. Never, ever, work out your hourly rate."

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alexw

alexw

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scrub em, and simmer them in their skins. when soft peel as you would potatoes for sautee and add to a plain risotto base, finish with a little truffle oil, parmy and butter. top with the best roasted chicken breast you can find.

quality and simple

after all these years in a kitchen, I would have thought it would become 'just a job'

but not so, spending my time playing not working

www.e-senses.co.uk

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AlisonA

AlisonA

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Posted
Jerusalem artichokes are quite tasty, but don't eat them for dinner if you are planning to spend time in an enclosed space, like an airplane, or in car with your boss or new love interest.

They tend to cause deadly flatulence. :hmmm:

Harold McGee's book The Curious Cook has an entire chapter about Jerusalem Artichokes, called "Taking the Wind Out of the Sunroot." He lists cold storage, slicing/boiling for 15 minutes, or (for maximum elimination of gas) cooking for 24 hours.

I will have to try those methods! I happen to be, ummmm, shall we say prone to flatulence :unsure:

I wonder if you could parboil to get rid of some of the "wind" and then roast? I really like the idea of roasting them!

Anyone know how long they can be stored and if their "age" would make a difference in their starch/sugar balance (and decrease the resultant problems)?

Just a thought.

Alisona

Still searching for hash browns in Jersey.

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gus_tatory

gus_tatory

Posted
Posted
scrub 'em, and simmer them in their skins. when soft, peel as you would potatoes for sautee and add to a plain risotto base, finish with a little truffle oil, parmy, and butter. top with the best roasted chicken breast you can find...

quality and simple

wow--alexw's suggestion sounds delicious.

the only thing i would add is that if you want to do google searches for recipes, you're far more likely to get more/better results if you search with the French word "topinambours", as they seem to be more widely eaten in Europe/France than in N. America. my observation... :smile:

cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup recipe...

"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the ocean."

--Isak Dinesen

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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Anyone know how long they can be stored and if their "age" would make a difference in their starch/sugar balance (and decrease the resultant problems)?

Just a thought.

Alisona

It makes absolutely no difference how long you hold on to them for. I bought a batch and didn't get around to using them for 3 weeks. We were still miserable.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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