Recipe: eatsimplefood.com/boiled-roas...
This simple and crispy boiled and roasted sunchoke recipe brings out the sweetness, earthiness, and nuttiness of these Jerusalem Artichokes (another name for sunchoke).
What are Sunchokes / Jerusalem Artichokes?
Sunchokes are often called Jerusalem Artichokes, although they are a variety of perennial sunflower. However both the artichoke and the sunchoke are in the same family (Aster / Daisy).
This tuber (botany lesson: underground horizontal stem also known as a rhizome) looks knobby, similar to fresh ginger.
Basically, sunchokes are kinda like a root vegetable, similar to potatoes or horseradish in a sense because they grow underground as well.
Sunchokes are known to be invasive and take over large patches of ground. My grandma would make me remove them from her garden before they took over the vegetable patch.
Do Sunchokes give you gas?
Yup. Jerusalem artichokes can make you fart and burp, but not always. They are not referred to as fartichokes for no reason. lol.
Plenty of people have no reaction to eating sunchokes. I generally don't have a reaction, but did once and did not enjoy it 🙂 My husband has never had a reaction.
Long story short - be careful not to eat too many sunchokes the first time trying them. Jerusalem artichokes are not worth avoiding, again, just don't eat too much!
They have inulin - a carbohydrate that can occasionally cause bloating and gas. Inulin doesn't break down like normal food as it travels through the digestive system.
Lastly, this starchy inulin is mostly irritating when eaten raw. Inulin breaks down bit by bit during the cooking process. If you are sensitive, add a little lemon juice or vinegar to the pot of boiling water when cooking the sunchokes and that should also help.
What do Jerusalem Artichokes Taste Like?
Sunchokes taste like a cross between a potato and an artichoke. They are a touch sweet, earthy, and nutty.
The skin is thin and edible so there is no need to peel them, and that's a good thing because sunchokes are pretty knobby and hard to peel. Having said that, they can be quite dirty so peeling becomes a necessity unless you like to eat dirt.
Troubleshooting Cooking / Roasting Sunchokes
If the sunchokes boil too long they will become too soft to roast in the oven and also won't brown or caramlize. Take them out of the boiling water while they can still be sliced and are firm-ish. If they are too soft: mash them chunky and serve with butter, cream, cheese, or sour cream.
If there is still dirt on the sunchokes after rinsing just throw them in the pot of boiling water and rinse them after boiling. They may need some of the knobs cut off to get to the dirt.
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 1 lb sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes), rinsed
• 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• pinch black pepper
• 1-2 green onions, sliced as garnish
Instructions
• Preheat oven to 425F.
• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt and throw in whole sunchokes. Optional: add 1 ½ -2 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar if afraid of getting gas 🙂
• Boil ~ 15 minutes or until tender but al dente / firm (not falling apart - you still have to slice them).
• Drain and cool ~ 15 minutes or (ice bath and drain). Try to dry with a paper towel as best as possible.
• Slice into ½" coins and toss in a bowl.
• Gently mix in olive oil, salt, and pepper to bowl of sunchokes.
• Roast (uncovered) on a lined baking sheet ~ 15 - 20 minutes (turning once if needed) until browned. Sunchokes should be tender in the middle but the skin should be crispy.
• Add salt to taste. Happy Eating! Beckie