Roast Sunchokes

My favorite new farmers' market discovery of the year is definitely the sunchoke (aka the Jerusalem artichoke).  We have made some fabulous dishes with a number of other farmers' market purchases - broccoli spigarelli was my second favorite (which is lame because I didn't take pictures of it and we only made it once before it disappeared from the farmer's market).  I was shocked by how much I loved the sunchokes.  I don't typically love potatoes and I assumed that the sunchokes would be similarly starchy and bland.  But they weren't.  They don't have the heavy, starchy flavor and texture that I dislike about roast potatoes.  Instead they are wonderfully sweet and just a hint nutty.  And if you roast them long enough they turn nice and caramelized and crusty on the cut sides, with a soft and slightly pillowy interior.  Alex compared them to sweet potatoes, although I don't think they taste like sweet potatoes at all.  Supposedly they taste like artichokes, but I didn't taste artichoke at all.  We tried adding some fresh thyme to the pan with the sunchokes this time, but I don't think it really added anything.  I liked them just as much when roasted simply with evoo, s&p.  We served them tonight with roast chicken breasts, but I think roast sunchokes would go with any number of meat dishes.  Given how successful we have been roasting them, soup is the next step.  Perhaps next fall...

Recipe after the jump!




Roast Sunchokes

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb sunchokes, rinsed, scrubbed and halved lengthwise
2 tbsp evoo
s&p

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Toss sunchokes with evoo and season with s&p.  Spread the sunchokes out on a rimmed baking sheet, cut side down.  Roast, until tender, golden brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes.

Serve.