Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes

[seattledebs]

I've recently discovered these. Yum! And they're good for you too, I hear.

Anyone have favorite things to do with them? My boyfriend and I sauteed a bunch the other day with garlic, onions, mushrooms, butter, and white wine. I'm interested in creating a kind of lasagne using JAs instead of sheets of pasta, and also interested in using them raw in a salad with radishes and mustard greens.

Other ideas?

[peanuttree]

I've heard they can give you really bad gas - has no one experienced this?

[goodhealthgourmet]

never...and having suffered through myriad gastrointestinal issues, i'm very conscious of these things.

[BostonCookieMonster]

OMG ... I have a stomach of iron, but I was very, very sorry last time I ate a bunch of these. They were tasty (roasted), but never again.

[MrsCris]

Terrible gas. Really bad. Both MrCris and I were feeling rather sorry for ourselves the first time I made them.
But they are delicious, so we simply take Beano when I cook them and that really makes a difference. I like them simply sauteed with garlic.

[cdog]

you could make a soup...
also, roasting in the oven with Olive Oil and then pan roasting them with Thyme is a good option for a side dish. you get this weird crunchy yet chewy texture. the outside get's nice and carmalized when you put them to the pan after a good roast

[goodhealthgourmet]

really???

my first guess was that you're reacting to the inulin, particularly if you don't usually consume a lot of fiber...it's digested similarly to soluble fiber, fermented by microflora in the large intestine.

but i was really curious if there might be another explanation, so i did a little research, and i found this informative tidbit in a new york times article...

"In some people, however, Jerusalem artichokes cause gas, similar to beans or raw cabbage. This side effect is greatly reduced if the tubers are unearthed after frost has killed the tops of the plants. If you like the vegetable, it might be wise to grow your own to be sure the tubers have been harvested when they are least likely to cause distress."

i'm guessing few of you are willing to go through the trouble of growing your own, so beano sounds like the way to go :)

[seattledebs]

Or buy them at the farmers' market after frost has hit, and ask the farmer when they were harvested!

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, hounds.

[Shane Greenwood]

I made this recipe without the croquettes. It was one of the best soups I've ever had. The recipe is from Thomas Keller of French Laundry.

http://nymag.com/restaurants/articles...

[wearybashful]

I made a gratin with sunchokes, salsify and yukon gold potatoes, with parmesan-- and I stuck some rolled up bundles of sole to cook under the top cream/ breadcrumbs/ cheese layer (after the veggies were cooked, of course) because I'm lazy.

[digkv]

Sunchokes are really delicious and amazing. I actually like them best roasted in a 400F oven with EVOO, salt, pepper and a squirt of lemon juice. They get a nice caramelization and are just amazing. I don't find them too interesting raw; they end up tasting sort of nutty but truthfully, it's ends up being like jicama raw. The lasagne sounds interesting; you should tell us how that turns out.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i love roasting them too, almost exactly the same way, but i usually add some onions to the pan. i also occasionally mash or puree the mixture....it's a terrific alternative to mashed potatoes.

oh, and i always slice raw sunchokes into my salads...great crunch!

[pikawicca]

I love them cooked in milk, then mashed with butter and S&P.