At first, I thought it was hunger, but my lunch was only an hour ago. On a whim, searching for oddities in the fridge, I discovered a few well, maybe 15, sunchokes. I roasted them, added some olive oil and a tiny bit of real butter, threw a few pinches of salt and pepper to barely season them and threw them in the oven for about 45 minutes. Wow....so good!
For some, the familiar moniker of this tuber might be the Jeruselem artichoke--a homely little root that seems to be overlooked at the produce aisle.
So, lets get right to the root of the matter ( just had to throw in the pun) Some may say, why eat a vegetable that has to travel all the way from Jeruselem? Eating local, this is not!
According to wisegeek.com, it is not from Jeruselem after all. It was in existence back in the early 1600's. It was actually a staple for native americans since it grew like weeds. The French explorer, Samuel Champlain carried back to Europe, hoping it would be cultivated in the Mediterranean region. The Italians called it "girasole articicco"which meant sunflower artichoke.
By the time Americans got a hold of the name, it turned into Jeruselem Artichoke.
It could be considered a cross between a ginger root and a potato and the knobby little globes have many nutritional goodies. They are packed with minerals such as magnesium which we don't get much of anymore, iron and potassium. They bring that friendly bacteria to the gut along with being low in calories.
So, be daring. Pick up some sweet, nutty flavored sun chokes next time you are wandering the produce aisles. If anything, they will provide the dinner table with good conversation!
