You know when you just feel like you’re stale? In a rut. Plain Jane. Dull as a door nail. Tired? I’ve felt like that for a long time – It started before the holidays when I injured my foot and had to scale back on my workouts (a.k.a- my sanity). I have been forced to sit a lot more than I’m used to, not walk or run, and wear a lot of dumb shoes that don’t come with heels. For over a month. And I’M LOSING MY MIND. I just don’t feel like myself. And I don’t know how to fix it.
So…instead of trying to think of more ways to fix this lumpy, broken me (I’ve considered dying my hair, shaving it, and/or changing my name to Fancy), I decided to go to the store (the super fancy one) and just pick out something to cook that’s out of my normal repertoire.
Radishes? Kohlrabi? Long Beans?
Sunchokes. Sunchokes?…Sunchokes.
I grabbed a bag of sunchokes (the more you say that word, the more it sounds like I made it up. Try it.)
and thought,
‘Yes. Yes! You get me, Sunchoke. You understand what I’m going through! You’re not potato, not artichoke, not pretty, not shiny. You’re dull, weird and a little craggy – people think you’re ginger. Perfect!!!’
Sunchokes, or Jerusalem Artichokes, or sunroots, or earth apples…(see, even my craggy friend has an identity crisis) are actually a member of the sunflower family. They’re not Israeli, and they’re not artichokes but the reason why they’re called Jerusalem artichokes is left up to historians. All I know is that they’re DELICIOUS. I ate some raw and they taste like a savory apple.
So, here’s what I did with my new little confused friend – I just hope my makeover made him feel better about himself, (poor guy, just hiding in a corner behind the carrots). Who knows? Maybe something or someone out there will scoop me up and make me into something Fancy too.
*Sunchoke Purée
(Serves 2 as a side dish)
(This is a very simple way to ‘fancy’ up this veggie. I didn’t want to add too many ingredients to it, because the flavor is so amazing and subtle, but you’re more than welcome to!)
-Peel 1 lb. of sunchokes…
…and immediately place them in a bowl of cold water with a juiced lemon to prevent browning.
-Cut any large sunchokes into smaller pieces, making all of them about 1 inch in size.
-Drain well and place in a medium stock pot. Cover with 1 cup of chicken broth or stock, or as much as it takes to almost cover the veggies – (this depends on the size of your pot)
–Bring to a boil and cover, reduce to a simmer and continue to simmer for 20 minutes, or until the veggies are fork tender. (*Keep an eye on them and add more broth/stock as necessary if they happen to soak up too much liquid. Mine ended up being done at the exact time that the liquid was all absorbed.)
-Transfer to a food processor (cool them down a bit if your processor doesn’t allow hot things) and add one big spoonful of crème fraîche* (about 1 TB worth, more if you want it richer) and purée until very smooth.
-Serve warm or room temperature.
(*please don’t go out and buy crème fraîche just for the tablespoon needed for this recipe – If you have sour cream, use that! But crème fraîche is richer and thicker and does have a different flavor (a little goes a LONG way) so I highly recommend you playing around with it if you’re unfamiliar!)
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