Sauteed Sunchokes
Sunchokes were called Jerusalem Artichokes. We used to slice them thinly and add them to salads in the 70’s but I haven’t given them much thought lately. My loss! These were so tasty and a perfect addition to any protein on a plate.
They were a little bit difficult to find here in Tallahassee but a new supermarket is in town, Earth Fare, and lucky me, they had them; they came from California.
First Marcella wants you to peel the knobby tubers. It’s a little bit time consuming but not at all hard to accomplish.
Then they are blanched in boiling salted water and sliced.
After warming some chopped garlic in olive oil, the sliced sunchokes are added and cooked, with salt and chopped parsley, until they’re soft enough—like a potato.
They developed a definite nutty, artichoke-like flavor which, combined with the good olive oil, salt and garlic, was an unexpected treat.
I can really see why Marcella has included several sunchokes recipes in this chapter.
I am so glad you like them Jan. I have been making them several times this fall, whenever Whole Foods brought them in. I never see them at Publix, which is an indication that they have yet to capture people’s attention. Possibly it’s a problem of names. “Jerusalem artichoke” is misleading – it certainly has no resemblance to an artichoke- and sunchoke is a marketing term that has not caught on. In northern Italy – they are not known elsewhere in the country – they are called topinambur, an interesting sounding name that perhaps would have had better luck if it had been adopted here.