Elusive sunchokes add a little texture to soup
This year I set up a resolution to cook with five new
ingredients once again. One of the ingredients I wanted to use was
sunchokes, or Jerusalem artichokes. The vegetable is not at all
like an artichoke and is not related to the green, spiky vegetable
that grows along the coast. Sunchokes are a root vegetable that are
related to sunflowers. The tubers, or root of the plant, are edible
and it has the texture of jicama. Some sources describe it as
tasting a little like water chestnuts. It is supposed to be low in
starch and a good substitute for potatoes.
Elusive sunchokes add a little texture to soup
This year I set up a resolution to cook with five new ingredients once again. One of the ingredients I wanted to use was sunchokes, or Jerusalem artichokes. The vegetable is not at all like an artichoke and is not related to the green, spiky vegetable that grows along the coast. Sunchokes are a root vegetable that are related to sunflowers. The tubers, or root of the plant, are edible and it has the texture of jicama. Some sources describe it as tasting a little like water chestnuts. It is supposed to be low in starch and a good substitute for potatoes.
The vegetable, however, is not the easiest to find in local grocery stores. I saw a bag of sunchokes at the grocery store about two months ago, and I bought it. But by the time I got all the ingredients together for a recipe the sunchokes had turned bad. When I went back to the grocery store, the stock of sunchokes was depleted. It’s one of those items that isn’t stocked every week. I found a recipe and figured next time I saw them I would buy the bag and other ingredients for a soup.
I checked several grocery stores in Gilroy and Hollister, to no avail. I even went to a Trader Joe’s in San Jose and the staff there pointed me to the artichokes when I asked for sunchokes. We had actually decided we would make the split pea soup recipe below minus the sunchokes last weekend when I decided to stop by a farmer’s market in Campbell Sunday afternoon. Since it was almost 2 p.m., most of the booths were already closing down for the day. But I happened across one vegetable vendor who had root vegetables that looked a little bit like ginger, as sunchokes do. I asked what they were just to be sure and the vendor said they were Jerusalem artichokes.
I was excited to have them for the soup, though, the sunchokes are little bit hard to handle. The root vegetable is knobby, sort of like ginger root. It is hard to peel off the skin around the bulbous parts of the root. I did the best I could, before dicing it up into small pieces to add to the soup. Uncooked, the root has little flavor and it does have a mild taste like water chestnuts. When I cooked it up with the soup, it softened up a bit and took on the flavor of the chicken broth and other ingredients in the soup. The sunchoke bits had a little contrast to the texture of the split pea soup.
I would definitely cook with sunchokes again – if I can find them.
Sunchoke and split pea soup
Recipe courtesy of Guy Fieri
3 oz. pancetta, thinly sliced and diced (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1/3 c. small diced leeks, white and light green parts only, (about 2)
1 lb. sunchokes, peeled and diced
1/4 c. seeded and diced roasted pasilla pepper
1/2 c. peeled and small diced yellow onion (about 1/2 onion)
1 c. peeled and diced carrots, (about 2 large)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. smoked ham hocks
8 c. low-sodium chicken stock
1 lb. dried split peas
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. heavy cream, optional
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
Goat Cheese Croutons, recipe follows
In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, saute the pancetta until just starting to brown. Remove from the pot, and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the leeks, sunchokes, pasilla pepper, onion and carrots. Let cook for 5 to 6 minutes, then add in the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Make a well in the middle of the veggies, add the olive oil, and cook for 1 minute, then add the ham hocks. Cook the ham hocks, turning every 2 minutes, until all sides are warm and starting to lightly brown. Add the chicken stock and the peas. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in freshly cracked pepper, to taste, and remove the ham hocks from the pot to a cutting board. Let them cool for a few minutes and with a fork, shred the meat and add to the soup. Stir in the heavy cream and the vinegar. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and serve with the goat cheese croutons.
Sprinkle with rendered pancetta and a crack of black pepper and serve.
Goat Cheese Croutons
6 oz. goat cheese
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
Combine all the ingredients, except the panko, in a small bowl.
Form into a log shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze for 30 minutes or until firm. While in freezer, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the cheese from the freezer and slice into 1/4-inch rounds. Flatten each slice with your palm or hand, and press into the panko crumbs. Arrange on a silicone baking mat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, then turn over and continue to bake for 6 to 8 minutes more. Cool and store in airtight container in the refrigerator.
Melissa Flores can be reached at
mf*****@pi**********.com
. She writes a blog at
