Jerusalem Artichokes

[jjb75]

Any recipe ideas for this odd little tuber?

[avazora]

I had an amazing Jerusalem Artichoke soup at my favorite bistro. It was a bisque, and had finely-chopped and well-toasted bacon lardons on top. It was perfect.

[Marge]

I love them in a gratin (a la Marcella Hazan). Boil peeled sunchokes till just tender (about 10 min). Drain well, cut into 1/2 inch slices. Layer in a buttered gratin dish, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with freshly grated parmigiana reggiano, dot with butter, and bake at 400 until the top is crusty.

[jjb75]

They definately don't taste anything like an artichoke, more like a water chestnut.

[Ida Red]

I read somewhere that the "Jerusalem" is a corruption of an American Indian word and the "Artichoke" part is because the taste is simular (although I don't think so).
My favorite way to prepare them is to slice about 1/4 inch thick, blanch in satled boiling water a few min. and ice bath. Then simply sautee them in butter/olive oil, finishing with a sprinkling of parmesan, squeeze of lemon, s & P.

[Robert Lauriston]

I wouldn't blanch them, the flavor's mild to start with.

[Ida Red]

Yes, but the blanching here is more for cooking purposes... as you would do with potatoes.

[Robert Lauriston]

For partial precooking I prefer steaming, since it retains the flavor.

[Robert Lauriston]

Watch out for any parts that have turned pink or red, that's a sign they've gone off.

They're nice raw in salads. Peel, then grate or slice thinly. They're good mixed with similarly prepared carrots, fennel, and/or fresh water chestnuts. Shaved parmesan goes well, as does white truffle oil.

Also nice mixed with potatoes, parsnips, and/or celery root in roast diced vegetables, soup, puree, or mash.

Random factoids, they're not a kind of artichoke. They're the root of a kind of sunflower, and "Jerusalem" is a corruption of "girasole," the Italian word for sunflower.

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedg...

[blue room]

OK, "Jerusalem" is a corruption of girasole, but why is "artichoke" part of the name?

[jjb75]

Because they are all part of the same family. The thistle family is artichokes, sunflowers and sunchokes (aka "jerusalem artichokes." a regular Globe artichoke is an unopened flower - think of a sunflower bud - and the jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke is the tuberous root or a similar flower.

[Atahualpa]

They are indeed both Astereae (Asters in the broadest sense). However that still makes them quite unrelated botanically -- Artichokes are a European thistle (Cynara scolymus) and Sunchokes are the tubers of a North American sunflower (Helianthus Tuberosa).

As such, I have always been told that the artichoke portion of the name comes from the fact they were thought to taste similar.

[Robert Lauriston]

Yeah, the plants and flowers aren't similar, but cooked Jerusalem artichoke tubers taste vaguely like artichoke hearts.

http://wildflowers.jdcc.edu/Jerusalem%20Artichoke5.jpg
http://food.apartmenttherapy.com/imag...

[junglekitte]

i like to peel them, roast them with whole peeled shallots, tomatoes, olives, and a bit of stock at 500. stirring often!

[MaggieMuffin]

I love them in soup. There are dozens of recipes online - choose any - they give a great consistency and great flavor to soup.

[coolbean98]

My mom just peels them and adds them straight to salads.

[Atahualpa]

Raw or boiled first? Whole or cut up? If raw, how do they taste in comparison to cooked? I've never had them raw.

[coolbean98]

Raw and thinly sliced or shredded, as they are very crunchy. I have only had them this way so I couldn't tell you how they taste compared to cooked ones! Here's more on them (raw and otherwise): http://www.vegparadise.com/highestper...