Try Sunchokes In Your Next Recipe

Kelli Best-Oliver — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:10:20 +0000

You may have seen some brown, knobby tubers at your local farmers market recently. No, that’s not ginger, they’re sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, but they’re really nothing like artichokes. They’re actually a member of the sunflower family and have a texture that’s is a cross between a potato and a water chestnut. And, they’re totally delicious. Ideas for cooking, after the jump…

Organic Oven Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes

Jennifer Lance — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:50:19 +0000

My six-year-old daughter loves oven roasted Jerusalem artichokes, and that’s a good thing, since they have taken over our garden. I call Jerusalem artichokes our survival food, as they grow so easily, spread like wildfire, and are ready for eating throughout the winter and early spring. Sure, they are a pain to clean, but that is a small price to pay for a homegrown meal in the winter. My family will never starve, as we always have Jerusalem artichokes.

Jerusalem artichokes are not artichokes, and they do not come from Jerusalem. They are often called sunchokes, as the plant grows very tall in the summer and blooms a golden flower. Sunchokes are native to the eastern US and were first cultivated by Native Americans, although they don’t take much cultivation, in my experience. According to Wikipedia, “Jerusalem artichokes have 650 mg. potassium per 1 cup (150g) serving. They are also high in iron, and contain 10-12% of the RDA of fiber, niacin, thiamine, phosphorus and copper.” Jerusalem artichokes offer an important source of potassium for those trying to follow the 100 Mile Diet and thus avoiding bananas.

Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes

Wash and cut the tubers into about 1/2-1 inch pieces, the more uniform, the better. Place the cut sunchokes in a glass baking pan and drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Add crushed garlic (2-3 cloves for a 9″ x 13″ pan).

Green Options » sunchokes

Try Sunchokes In Your Next Recipe

Organic Oven Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes