As Autumn closes in on us one fantastic thing that comes from the ground are Jerusalem Artichokes. I have always been a huge fan of these little nuggets!
Whilst a lot of us may just walk past them on the shelves not really knowing what to do with them, they are really easy to cook and very versatile.
Despite its name, the sauté artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem, and it is not a type of artichoke. Some people think the artichoke grows at the base of a sunflower, this is wrong. Whilst the choke does in fact grow a yellow flower its only 5-10 cm in size.
So what do we do with them?
First you need to clean them like potatoes .
Artichokes grow in the dirt, unlike potatoes they are not very easy to clean. So you need to get a small bristle brush and clean under cold running water. I find that if they are really dirty just soak them in cold water for 30 minutes.
Soup is one thing that comes to mind for a lot of us.
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
Clean and chop your artichokes, slowly sauté with onions, butter and garlic.
Add vegetable stock, seasoning and simmer for 30 minutes.
Blitz and fold in mascarpone.
Roasted With Parmesan
I first cooked them like this whilst working at Bluebird in London and its a great dish!
Wash and slice artichokes about 1 cm thick, place onto some greaseproof paper and drizzle with olive oil, and grated parmesan cheese. Bake on 180 for 30 minutes or until the cheese is golden and caramelised!
Salmon and Artichokes
Grill or bake a piece of Salmon, roast the Artichokes the same as above without the parmesan.
Tear the salmon and place around a plate with the artichokes. Add chopped Italian parsley and dill and drizzle with grove avocado oil.
Delicious!
