sunchoke (jerusalem artichoke) recipes

This vegetable is a native of North America but is now eaten all around the world. In Italy, they are called "girasole articiocco" (some think the name "jerusalem" artichoke is a corruption of the the italian work girasole (sunflower)). In Turkey, they are called "yerelması". In Sanskrit, they are called "hastipijoo" or "vajrangi".

We've been having an interesting chat about sunchokes, aka jerusalem artichokes, aka Helianthus tuberosa, on the Vegetable Gardening thread ( http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/798674/ ), so I thought I'd start a thread for sunchoke recipes. Please add your favourite sunchoke recipes.


Sunchoke Gratin
adapted from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

Ingredients
1 pound sunchokes(Jerusalem artichokes)
Salt
An oven-to-table baking dish
Butter for smearing and dotting the baking dish
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Peel the sunchokes and drop them in salted, boiling water. Cook them until they feel tender, but not mushy when prodded with a fork. Ten minutes after the water returns to a boil, check them frequently because they tend to go from very firm to very soft in a brief span of time. Drain when done, and as soon as they are cool enough to handle, cut them into 1/2-inch slices.

Smear the bottom of a baking dish with butter, then place the sunchoke slices in it, arranging them so they overlap slightly, roof tile fashion. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the grated Parmesan, dot with butter and place the dish on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven. Bake until a light golden crust begins to form on top. Allow to settle for a few minutes out of the oven before serving.

Yield: 4 servings

Sunchoke Salad Sandwich (makes 3)
adapted from Too Many Chefs blog

8-12 oz. cleaned scrubbed sunchokes
1 celery rib, diced fine
1/2 red bell pepper, diced fine
1/2 small red onion, diced fine
1 cup clean baby spinach leaves
1 red tomato, sliced into 6 slices, plus top and bottom trimming
"enough" mayonnaise or Vegan substitute - about 3 tablespoons or so.
salt and pepper to taste
6 slices hearty wheat bread

Scrub the sunchokes very well. You don't have to peel them if you are sure you've removed all the dirt. I used a plastic dobie pad I'd microwaved briefly. You may peel them if you wish, but you'll need more sunchokes to make up for the loss of the mass of the peel.

Grate the sunchokes into a medium bowl. Squeeze the water out of the sunchokes with your fists after they've been grated and drain. Ok, you could wrap them in a paper towel before squeezing, but it's not nearly as satisfying as going bareback.

Add the celery, bell pepper, and onion. Mix well. Add some of the the mayonnaise and mix until the whole is thoroughly moist, but not soupy. It should look like a slightly dry tuna salad. If still to dry, continue to add mayo until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Taste and adjust seasonings.

Toast bread.

Lay down a few spinach leaves on a slice of toast, just enough to protect the bread from the mayo in the salad. Spread as much as you wish of the salad (up to a 1/3 of the total) on top of the layer of spinach. Top with two slices of tomato, and 1/3 cup of spinach.

Add the second slice of bread, cut diagonally and serve. Repeat with rest of ingredients to make three sandwiches

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From "Almost Turkish Recipes" blog.
http://almostturkish.blogspot.com/2007/05/sunchokes-with-orange-juice-portakal.html

Although this is a traditional Turkish recipe, I twisted it a little by adding orange juice. To make it "really Turkish" instead of "almost Turkish" just replace orange juice with water.

1 lb sunchokes, peeled and cut into strips
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 medium potatoes, cut into strips
2 medium carrots, cut into jullien strips
2 tbsp rice
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup juice of an orange
1 tsp sugar
1/4 bunch dill, chopped
salt

-Fill a bowl with water and squeeze half of a lemon. Put sunchokes and potatoes in water after chopping. Lemon juice will prevent darkening.
-In a broad pot, heat the oil. Stir onion and garlic until cooked.
-Add in first carrots, then potatoes, and last sunchokes. Cook for a couple of minutes stirring gently.
-Pour in orange juice, sugar, and salt.
-When it starts boiling, add rice.
-Cover and cook on low-medium until rice and vegetables are cooked--approximately 30 minutes.
-Let it cool down with the lid on.
-Sprinkle dill on top before you serve. You can also sprinkle orange zest.

This is a Turkish olive oil recipe which means it should be served cold. Try and you'll see; it's tastier when it's cold.

From Binnur's Turkish Cookbook
http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2007/01/jerusalem-artichokes-with-olive-oil.php

500 gr Jerusalem Artichokes, peeled, washed and cut in big chunks
1 onion, chopped
65 ml extra virgin olive oil (half for cooking, rest for after cooking)
1 small carrot, peeled, cut in bite sizes
2 tbsp rice, washed
1/4 cup dill, chopped (half for cooking, rest for garnish)
1/2 lemon juice
Juice of 1/2 an orange
1 1/2 cup hot water
1 tsp sugar
Salt

Saute the onion with olive oil in a medium sized pot for a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients with 1 1/2 cup of hot water. Cook for about 20 minutes over medium heat with the lid covered. After about 15 minutes check the vegetables and water. If necessary, add a little bit more hot water.

Place on a service plate. Sprinkle the remaining half of the dill and pour the rest of the olive oil all over the dish. Let it cool first, then place in the fridge. Serve cold.