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It Came from Beneath
the Earth!!!
We explore the strange world of the Jerusalem Artichoke — which
is neither from Jerusalem, nor an artichoke. Which is why they've been renamed Sunchokes. Once again, I have focused my efforts on something relatively difficult to find on the grocery
store shelves. My apologies. I swear to the heavens above that I had seen “Sunchokes” in cute little packs recently
at my nearby not-so-great store. But no, not there. Nor at the bigger store, or even at the relatively big store that has
white asparagus and tomatillos and orange cauliflower. And quinces. [UPDATE!
Sunchokes have been spotted, purchased even, on the shelves of Whole Foods. 3.99 a pound and good sized, easy to peel, without
all the bothersome knobs on the free backyard babies.]
But regardless of
their rarity, we're writing about them because...this is what’s in the backyard garden, boys and girls, of Chesapeake
Foodie in February. Sunchokes, the popular market name, are the tubers of a pretty and extraordinarily tall and invasive perennial sunflower. According to my vegetable bible “The Victory Garden Cookbook,” this native American plant was exported to Europe, where it was cultivated. Most accounts agree that Jerusalem was probably a mispronunciation of the Italian name “girasola,” which means following the sun.
If you are lucky enough to find a package of sunchokes, you’ll have no shortage
of fine recipes to try. The raw flesh of the plant is crisp, sweet and delicate, rather like a water chestnut or jicama. However,
most cookbooks recommend that chokes be cooked. For some, the raw choke can cause gastric distress. (!)
Because of the knobby tubers we pull up from the garden, my favorite recipe is to roast the chokes in the oven. I spray with a cooking oil, salt, and lay out on tin foil on a baking sheet. At 400º, the chokes take about 30 minutes. Other recipes call for peeling the chokes before cooking and I just can’t imagine how to tackle that without losing most of the product. Mark Bittman in “How to Cook Everything” has a recipe that recommends parboiling for 2 to 10 minutes, just until they lose their crispness, dunking in ice water, then slicing and sauteing in extra-virgin olive oil, until brown on both sides. Do not cook in an iron or aluminum pan. He salts and peppers, and serves with lemon. I love taking my roasted chokes and serving them with a dip, whether tangy sour cream or yogurt based, or even a red cocktail sauce. Morash, in the Victory Cookbook, loves to serve with Hollandaise sauce for a special treat.
Sunchokes, unless you’re dousing them with a rich sauce, are fairly nutritious.
They’re high in iron and potassium. A 2/3 cup serving of raw slices (100 grams) has 17 and 18% of the recommended adult
daily value, respectively. They have zero fat and the serving has about 76 calories. No wonder the Native Americans cultivated
them.
One of the best online resources for information about Jerusalem Artichokes, if you manage to score some, is at About.com. Other recipes can be found at Epicurious.com and Lovetoknow.com. Read up and try. There are a few little tricks to remember. But they’re well worth the little effort required:
Flavorful Roasted Sunchokes Clean chokes thoroughly. Heat oven to 400º. Spread
cleaned chokes on pan and spray with oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and finely chopped rosemary. Place in oven. In 30 minutes or so, test with
fork, the chokes should pierce easily. Allow
to cool slightly and sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan. Serve with a sauce of yogurt, chives and horseradish made to your
taste.
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