If you visit the little
field, you will see a big clump of sunchokes.
More commonly known as Jerusalem artichokes, they are not related to
artichokes, and are native to the northeastern U.S. They are actually tubers of
a perennial sunflower that produces edible low-starch tubers that look like
small potatoes and taste like water chestnuts.
They are very easy to grow, although the flowers are small and
unassuming on top of these tall 5-10 feet high plants. Once established, they
are fairly drought resistant.
The sunchoke is best
planted in a dedicated bed as they spread rapidly and may be difficult to
remove completely. I learnt this the
hard way, as I removed a bed of these growing by my garage and was careless
with where I put the soil and tubers.
Soon we had huge clumps of them growing in mad abandon in several
different places, which required a great deal of work to remove.
Sunchokes will keep in
the fridge for 7-10 days. They can be
frozen or left in the ground, and can be harvested between September and March.
They are great for
soup, and here is a recipe to try:
Sunchoke
and Garlic Soup
Serves 8
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound sunchokes, scrubbed and chopped
2 small waxy potatoes (such as Yukon Gold, red or new potatoes), scrubbed and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
Pinch dried red chili flakes
6 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper
Fresh chopped baby kale for garnish
1 pound sunchokes, scrubbed and chopped
2 small waxy potatoes (such as Yukon Gold, red or new potatoes), scrubbed and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
Pinch dried red chili flakes
6 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper
Fresh chopped baby kale for garnish
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over high. Add the
sunchokes, potatoes, and onion. Sauté about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic and optional chili flakes, and continue cooking until the
vegetables are lightly browned. Add the stock and bay leaves. Bring the mixture
to a boil then lower the heat to low. When soup settles into a simmer, cover
and cook until the potatoes and sunchokes are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and then process the soup either
with an immersion blender, or in a blender in small batches, until smooth.
Check for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, as desired.
Garnish and serve.