This recipe is from the Eating Local in the Depth of Winter recipe demo and presentation I gave at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to learn just how delicious it can be to eat from your garden, even in the “low time.”
To view all recipes in the NWFGS 2013 series, click here.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, rough chopped
- 1 celery stalk, rough chopped
- 1 leek, white and pale green parts only, rough chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, smashed and rough chopped
- 2 pounds Jerusalem artichokes, unpeeled, scrubbed very well and chopped
- 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, or to taste
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Extra virgin olive or hazelnut oil, minced chives or parsley and chopped toasted hazelnuts, for garnish (optional)
Method
In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion, celery, leek and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and translucent.
Add chopped Jerusalem artichokes and stock to pot and bring to a simmer. Let cook about 45 minutes, until Jerusalem artichokes are tender. Add heavy cream and season to taste with nutmeg, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.
Puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth and thick.
Serve, if desired, drizzled with olive or hazelnut oil and garnished with minced chives and hazelnuts.
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I read about growing sunchokes as a prepper thing, but they didn’t sound appetizing … until your recipe.
So… seriously. How much gas are we dealing with when we eat sunchokes?
Wikipedia:
The inulin cannot be broken down by the human digestive system,[14] which can cause flatulence and, in some cases, gastric pain. Gerard’s Herbal, printed in 1621, quotes the English planter John Goodyer on Jerusalem artichokes:
“which way soever they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine than men.”[15]
Anybody that knows the answer is too busy farting to do so… 🙂
LOL! Actually, Chow just had an article devoted to the, ahem, “Fartichoke” and the consensus seems to be that the older they are, the worse the effects are (+1 to homegrown vs. store-bought), that some people are more sensitive than others, and that you should probably keep quantities reasonable.
http://www.chow.com/food-news/134892/do-sunchokes-give-you-gas-meet-the-fartichoke/
Now, I checked with Homebrew Husband, who reports to me that Sunchokes are highly fermentable. I therefore conclude that, if the gastric issues concerns you, intrepid off-grid types consider using Sunchokes to make either hooch or biofuel. 🙂
mmmm, hooch. I’ve only had them a few times, but really enjoyed them. Was considering growing some… either for me, or futures pigs. They tough to find for planting?
Some amusing comments in that fartichoke thread (first time I heard that term, awesome!)