CSA #4 & Roasted Sunchokes

Before I go into this week's CSA offerings, I need to add a recent sunchoke (AKA Jerusalem artichoke) discovery. They are delicious roasted! I have no idea why I haven't ever tried this before.

I think I've discovered one of the secrets to skin-on sunchokes-- a vegetable brush. Most people's comments I've read on the subject say that the skins are too tough when roasted. I didn't think so at all. They weren't any more intrusive than a skin-on red bliss (or other waxy) potato. What I have noticed, though, is that you have to scrub the heck out of them to get the dirt off. If they end up several shades lighter than when you started and your brush is filled with dirt, you're in business. If you start to see white, you've gone too far.

Until recently, I'd only ever eaten/prepared them raw or in purees. The weekly pile of them has made me think inside the (CSA) box. So, when roasting some chicken legs/thighs, I halved several small sunchokes, cut a few carrots to the same size, added a couple of huge cloves of garlic and tossed them in just enough olive oil to lightly coat and seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh thyme. They were in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes or so then about 20 more minutes at 450F (while the chicken was resting), after which they came out wonderfully browned, but still retaining a bit of bite to their texture. Roasting on their own, I'd go straight to 425F for about 40 minutes or so. Vegetable heaven! We scarfed them up before I even thought about taking a picture. I'm sure this won't be the last time I make this, though. I'm also betting they'd be great in a foil packet on the grill, which is much more summer weather-friendly.

This week's haul-- mostly repeats:

• Lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Kale
• Hakuri turnips
• Parsley
• Scalions
• Arugula
• Cilantro

Sunchoke Hashbrowns

When we woke up, I wanted to make a nice, savory Sunday breakfast. We had some turkey bacon on-hand, so eggs seemed like a natural pairing. It occurred to me that since sunchokes make a decent substitute for potatoes, so maybe they'll make decent hash browns.

I've mostly used sunchokes for purees and raw preparations, so I'm there's some learning curve on frying and roasting. I know people make latkes with them, so why not this similar crispy breakfast treat? After giving them a good scrub (the skins seem to really try to hold on to dirt), Operation Hash Browns was underway.


I prepared the hash browns in pretty much the same way I do with potatoes. I used a box grater to shred them, placed in a paper towel and squeezed out excess moisture. I added about half of an onion, also grated and squeezed, and spread them out in a liberally-oiled hot, heavy skillet and seasoned with salt and pepper.

It surprised me that even after removing so much moisture, they still reduced by a good third when cooked. I didn't get a real crisp surface, like I would with potatoes, but I was thinking that might have been due to the extra moisture that was still escaping. I was able to get them to decently brown.


The verdict: Eh. Despite feeling like I was practically cooking them to death, they still tasted slightly undercooked. They also had a softer texture than I'd have liked. My husband ate them, but for me there just wasn't enough ketchup in the world. Objectively, they weren't terrible, they just weren't great.

Would I try them again? Actually, yes. I think they have potential, but need some tweaking. I think I would actually cook them through using a different method, squeeze as much liquid out as possible and then fry them. Either that or, like eggplant, use salt to draw out any extra moisture for about a half hour before attempting to fry. Also, I think that instead of making an entire skillet of them, I'd make little fry cakes out of them, so they're easier to manage.

When I do try again, I will definitely document it here. If you have tips or suggestions, please share!