Sauteéd Sunchokes with Roasted Garlic and Thyme

Yesterday was a red letter day in Toronto weather-wise - and it is about time! And as it is the May Two-Four weekend my culinary school is closed (Sorry I was sick last Saturday so I didn't make it to class and hence didn't write about it last week either - just lasagne anyway so nothing interesting missed.) so we decided to hit the Saturday morning Farmer's Market at Wychwood Barns. It is still early in the year for produce but we saw mostly ramps (wild leeks), asparagus, fiddle heads, some potatoes and sunchokes.

These knobby dirty fellows are sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, and are a tuber I've been meaning to try but just never got around to. They look like a bulbous ginger root, and have the flavour somewhere in between a potato and an artichoke (both things I love). What I did not realize until I started looking into recipes ideas for them, is they are the tuber of the sunflower plant!

The best way to serve them is either peeled and in a pureé or roasted with the skins on, well scrubbed, and any knobby bits removed. I always enjoy potatoes cooked in our extremely well seasoned 19 year old cast-iron skillet (one of my favourite wedding gifts still) so I went for the latter option. And it was a big hit with everyone.

Sauteéd Sunchokes with Roasted Garlic and Thyme
1 1/2 pounds sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes), sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
6 cloves of garlic, peeled left whole
2 tablespoons olive oil (sunflower seed oil would be good too!)
A good pinch salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Scrub the sunchokes well under cold running water, scrape with a paring knife to remove any knobby bits, then slice 1/4-inch thick. Add the sunchokes and garlic to a cast iron or other heavy pan and toss with the olive oil so the bottom of the pan and the sunchokes are lightly coated. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sunchokes are tender inside, like a potato.

We are serving this with grilled chicken marinated in a smoked paprika Spice Rub.

Happy Victoria Day Weekend!