by Lyra Bloom

With spring heartily marching forward, it’s time to think about cooking with this season’s bounty. The Jerusalem artichoke is easy to cultivate, rich in potassium and iron, and a good source of carbohydrates. But most people aren’t all that familiar with this tasty tuber.

Technically it’s not a native crop, since it comes from the east coast originally, but that’s close enough! Ironically, it’s also not related to the artichoke in any way, and has nothing to do with Jerusalem.

It’s thought that the “Jerusalem” is a corruption of Girasole, the Italian word for “Sunflower”. It’s more properly called a Sunchoke, since it is in fact the root of a native sunflower.
Unfortunately, they also contain a substance called inulin, which in some people can cause severe gastric pain and flatulence.

How do you find out if you’re one of those people? Try it and see! I created this recipe specifically for that purpose. It’s a light, simple preparation that captures the mildly sweet, crunchy, potato-like flavour of these wonderful little tubers, but doesn’t give enough to cause serious pain if you’re among the sensitives (like me).

Recipe:
5 jerusalem artichokes, washed and sliced
3 leaves of kale, roughly chopped
4 large cloves garlic, sliced
a few chives, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Toss all ingredients together in a small baking dish (except some chives reserved for garnish), and bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.