Jerusalem Artichokes

Neither an artichoke nor from Jerusalem, this tuber from the sunflower family is one of those rare produce items that is most happy when everything else withers from the cold. Although it is in season from October through March, this past week was the first time that I have picked it up at the market. Perhaps it's because it's so brown, plain and unassuming looking. Who knows. But there it was, tucked in among the kale and cabbage. A good alternative to potatoes, I thought.

Before I could cook with it, however, I had to refresh my memory on its misnomer of a name. It turns out that the Jerusalem part was really a mispronunciation of the Italian word for sunflower, girasole. And since its brown exterior has more resemblance to ginger root than an artichoke, I'm not sure where that name came from. In an effort to clear up the confusion, many produce vendors are now calling it a sunchoke, although I still see it most frequently labeled by the name Jerusalem Artichoke. I also had to do a bit of research on how to cook it since it had been awhile. Even though its white flesh looks somewhat like a potato, it certainly doesn't cook like a potato would. In my opinion, it is somewhere between a cross of a potato and a jicama, with a seemingly much higher water content than a potato. Because of this, you can eat them raw, although I wouldn't really recommend it. I thought they might be good as a thin, crisp, galette-style side dish. After first peeling them, I sliced the little chokes thinly, then heated up some fat in a large saute pan and spread them out in a shallow layer. After letting the bottom layer brown undisturbed for awhile, I beat one egg and about a quarter cup of milk together then poured that over the top. Finally, I put a thin layer of my favorite new find from Trader Joe's on top, beer cheese. Yum. Then the whole pan went under the broiler until it was puffy and bubbly.

It's hard to go wrong with anything with melted beer cheese on top of it, but after my first bite I was quickly reminded why I hadn't cooked with Jerusalem Artichokes in such a long time. They're really not that good. They're certainly not bad, but just not exciting in the least bit. No flavor of their own to speak of, and a weird, watery crunch where there doesn't seem like there should be one. Interesting, but not great.