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…
Sunchokes are an excellent source of iron and thiamin, as well as potassium, phosphorus, copper, fiber, vitamin C and niacin. They’re very versatile. They can be sliced raw in a salad or added to a stir-fry, cooked like potatoes, or pureed and used as a thickening agent. The easiest way to eat them is to sauté them in a little olive oil until browned, then season with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Jennifer Lance over at EcoChildsPlay has a recipe for roasted sunchokes with garlic that looks great. To save on calories, you can steam them instead of sauté. I’ve also eaten them pureed and used instead of cream in creamed spinach–sounds like a great vegan alternative to one of my favorite side dishes! You could also use sunchokes in soup or with mashed potatoes.
Try them out when you visit your local market this week, or consider planting them in your garden.
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Kelli Best-Oliver
A former high school teacher, I'm currently a part-time writer/full-time doctoral student at the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities, studying leadership in education from a critical pedagogy perspective along with public policy. On the green side, I'm interested in local food and agriculture (Iowa girl, born and raised), sustainability education, DIY projects, and grassroots activism. I'm slowly turning my South City, St Louis home into an urban farmstead. On the hoping-to-be-greener side, I love reading, yoga, soccer, music, backpacking, knitting, pop culture and trivia, my Tuesday Night Dinner Club, traveling, Guitar Hero, dive bars, and sitting on front porches with my husband and a cold beer. I came to Green Options via a post on Sustainablog,working the St Louis angle to get Jeff to let me in. I have a personal blog chronicling (what else?) life in South St. Louis. Follow me on Twitter!
One Response to Try Sunchokes In Your Next Recipe
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Oh my, Jerusalem Artichokes are the best! We did a simple recipe for them using Sunflower seed butter and sunflower sprouts- because sunchokes are actually related to both. Our dish is called the Sunwich Pita Pizza and was part of our Spring Sprout Safari.