This weekend, I’ll plant the garlic, and then I’m done.
The garden and I are no good for each other. We come together with the best of intentions, the garden and I, always thinking it will be different, thinking we have finally changed each other. I hum to myself as I kneel in the straw. I am wide-eyed and optimistic, and I know that if only I work harder I’ll make it what I know it can be. The un-edged rows, weedy beds, and poorly scheduled plantings will someday transform into this, this, and especially this! If only I were better, purer, more patient, more committed!
In the end, Joey comes out after dark to drag me back inside. He finds me crouched in the sowthistle, scraped, dirty, simultaneously cursing and enchanted, having done nothing I set out to do, but only other things I didn’t even plan for. Even those tasks are half-completed, but it’s dark and cold, and the garden has spit me out again. Till next time, my love. You know I’ll be back.
And what do I have to show for it? Some bolted broccoli raab and four million Jerusalem artichokes.
I know, right? Success!
Jerusalem artichokes taste somewhere between a potato, jicama, and the heart of an artichoke. In the summer, the plants sprout a thick and aggressive jungle of tiny-headed sunflowers, but the tubers will feed you all winter if you let them take over, which I do. If you’re a fancy farm-to-table restaurant, you will most likely call them sunchokes and serve them in a way that has no regard for the pain you will cause your poor customers later after they’ve gone home and their belly has started to swell and, well…
If you are in my house, I will boil them first. This is the trick! I promise. I will even sometimes hide them in the midst of other things, and when you ask, “What is that wild knotty flavor?” I’ll admit that there is an entire bed of that flavor outside, and you are welcome to it. And then I’ll give you a bag full of dirt and ugly duckling knobby tubers. Here are a few things to do with them when you get home. Of course, you can also plant them, and then you’ll be in Jerusalem artichokes for life.
Jerusalem Artichoke and Fennel Soup
(inspired by Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food II: Recipes, Flavor, and Inspiration from the New Kitchen Garden)
serves 4-6
1 1/2 pounds jerusalem artichokes, roughly peeled
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks (all the white+tender part of the green), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
salt and pepper
2 medium fennel bulbs, stalk removed, thinly sliced
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups milk
Whatever red spicy peppery spice you have in your pantry, for garnish
1. Cover the Jerusalem artichokes with water and bring to a boil. Cook uncovered at a low boil for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse the Jerusalem artichokes in cold water.
2. Melt the butter and oil together in a large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, celery, carrot, and fennel and cook, stirring often, until they all start to melt together, about 10 minutes Add about a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of pepper. Roughly chop the Jerusalem artichokes and add them to the pot. Pour the stock in to the pot, bring it all nearly to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the milk and blend the soup, either in batches in an upright blender or with an immersion blender in the pot. Reheat if necessary and add more salt and pepper, to taste.
Jerusalem Artichoke and Kale Pesto Galette
(This is one of those recipes where there are a few different components, each of which makes more than you need for the recipe. This is intentional, as there’s nothing so useful and satisfying as having an extra savory pie crust and some pesto in the fridge. Either will freeze well, too, if you want to squirrel them away for a day you really need them.)
1/2 recipe savory pastry (recipe follows)
1/2 cup kale pesto (recipe follows)
1/2 pound Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed
3/4 cup creme fraiche
salt
1. Cover the Jerusalem artichokes with water and bring to a boil. Cook uncovered at a low boil for about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the Jerusalem artichokes in cold water. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roll out the pastry to about 1/8 inch on a lightly floured counter. Don’t worry about getting it too round. Gently fold the pastry in half, then in half again, and transfer it to a greased jelly roll pan. Unfold it.
3. Spread the pesto to within about three inches of the edge of the pastry. Slice the Jerusalem artichokes to about 1/4 inch, and lay them out on the pastry, gently overlapping at the edges of each slice. Fold the edges of the pastry overtop the pesto and Jerusalem artichokes, rustic tart style. Drizzle (or plop, depending on the consistency) 1/2 cup of the creme fraiche overtop the Jerusalem artichokes, and lightly sprinkle with salt. Bake for 45 minutes, until the crust is golden. Top with the remaining creme fraiche.
Savory Pastry
makes 2 crusts
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into 1/4-inch squares
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold water
1. Combine the flours, thyme and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Put them into the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, salt, and water in a mixing cup and put it in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
2. Take the mixing bowl out of the fridge and blend the mixture on low speed with the paddle attachment until it’s the texture of crumbly meal. Take the measuring cup out of the freezer and, with the mixer still running on low speed, slowly pour the liquid into the bowl. The dough will be crumbly at first, but then after 10 or 20 seconds, it will come together in a ball. Stop the mixer.
3. Turn the dough out onto the counter and press it into a large disc. Cut the dough into two equal parts, wrap each in wax paper or plastic wrap, and press each into a disc. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 3 days. The dough can also be frozen at this point.
Kale Pesto
makes about 1 1/2 cups
4 cups firmly packed chopped kale
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup olive oil
1. Combine the kale, cheese, garlic, lemon and salt in the bowl of a food processor fit with the chopping blade. Pulse to chop and combine. (If you have a smaller food processor, you might have to do this in batches–then put all the chopped kale back in the food processor for the next step.
2. With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feeding chute. Process until the pesto is fairly uniform. Taste for salt, adjust if needed, and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Occasionally I teach workshops, and I have one coming up this fall. Join me and stellar novelist 
YUMMMMM! love them chokes! thanx for the ideas!
i just love you to pieces, miss alana 🙂
nigel has wonderful words to say about jerusalem artichokes and their, em, after-effects. which i fear i’ve experienced firsthand, being a greedy and speedy consumer of these ugly ducklings. but soup! that i’ve yet to do. if i were an inch closer, i’d march right over, spade in hand, and start digging. as it is, i’ll have to hunt some down…
xo,
molly
Well of COURSE, nigel would have something to say. And you know I’d listen to him say absolutely anything about anything. And how I’d love to see you digging in my garden! I’d pull you inside and make you dinner. xo
The herb, winter savory will counteract the gassy attributes of the jerusalem artichoke.
Ah, thank you! I’ll track some down and do some experimenting. 🙂
I love using them in soup – I often add a diced celery root (celeriac) and marjoram. If I have some on hand, I sprinkle a little ricotta salata and maybe some diced parsley on top – yum!!! My toddler is obsessed with it. 🙂
Oh, that is good. I like to mix them with celeriac and potato, too.They make such a silky soup.
Darn, now I am asking myself WHHHY didn’t I ever plant Jerusalem artichokes. Why?? Every time I think I’m done, I find something else I just must plant…they sound delicious. I’m eyeing up the neighbor’s backyard. They’ll never know they’re planted at the back of the property line. Thank you!
Do it! You just have to put a few in the ground, and then the deed is done. And yes, a little patch the edge of your yard is perfect. Give them space where they can really take over if they like.
Alana, do yourself a favor, and you’ll have a thriving salad garden all season and an abundance of herbs, as well by building a couple of 4′ by 8′, 12″ deep elevated beds filled with organic compost. No problems with deer, woodchucks, or rabbits. It’s so easy to keep weeded and planted, constantly producing wonderful veggies. For your main crops, I highly recommend raised beds with 12″ high untreated wooden sides. You can install hoops from Johnny’s Seeds to thwart bugs and extend the season. Wood chips in the paths will control weeds. I think that a productive garden does not need to be a burden. Invest in the beginning and you will literally reap great rewards. You will feel so good going out with your family to pick the salad and veggies for your dinner. You’re lucky to have a farmer’s market and/or organic farm near you, and I know you said that you worked there some. I find that prices for organic produce are exorbitantly high and I love choosing the varieties I want to grow in the ” garden within reach”, right outside my kitchen door!
Oh, thank you, Margit! I’m definitely exaggerating for humor’s sake here 🙂 The garden did in fact gift us with lots of food this year, and although I didn’t invest in a few things that would have helped in the beginning, I’m now 10 years into this sweet garden and we’ll make it work. I’ve got lots of organic compost, and nice straw covered paths in the beginning of the season, at least. And yes, I’m lucky to work at the Farmers’ market every Saturday, so I have access to endless wonderful veggies. Thanks for all your suggestions and support.
A question on those chokes….are they deer resistant, Alana? And I think you’re being too hard on yourself about the garden; it’s a lot easier to find time to plant and tend a garden when you don’t have children to raise.
Ah, thank you Anna. It’s true, I get hard on myself! But I think it’s easy to feel like we all should be so good at gardening just because we want to be. I really do love it, and I know I’ll keep learning new things every year 🙂 And as for those chokes- I wouldn’t say they’re deer resistant. They’re something else all together. All summer, the deer nibble (and sometimes outright prune) the plants, and they grow back even heartier and the tubers never seem to be affected. So they deer definitely like the greens, but it doesn’t seem to matter much.
my printer is about to run out of ink
oh THANK YOU for saying what you did about gardening! I guess I think that I have to be good at gardening, too, and I’m NOT. I keep trying, though, trying to remember back to the days when I was not a good cook but I kept learning through mistakes.
I love Jerusalem artichokes. I have never cooked them – oh dear! We usually put them raw in green salads.
I would consider my garden a success if I had a lot of anything! I never have, yet.
It’s so try Margo, we have to start somewhere, right? I always think happily on the image of myself in 20 years, such an AWESOME gardener. There’s always time.
I’ve thought about growing sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes, have hesitated because of descriptions that say they have the texture of water chestnuts (which I don’t like because of their texture), but have recently see them in pureed soup recipes. Do they have the texture of water chestnuts? What cooking treatments get rid of that?
When they’re raw, they are quite similar to water chestnuts, but pretty much any other way, they loose that texture. And I think they’re great in pureed soups, so that takes care of that too. Mostly, I’d recommend growing them if you have a corner of your yard where they can really take over. The flowers are pretty, the stalks spread, and they produce a ton of tubers for the winter with minimal work from you.
Thank you! I have a spot for them.
I’ve been digging my Jerusalem artichokes for weeks now. Planted 30 in a row 3 years ago. Didn’t understand how to dig them up the first year (tried to just pull, got roots but no tubers, of course), but dug up about 10 pounds last year. Thought they wouldn’t spread after all that digging. Silly me. I’ve now dug up over 3 buckets full, and I’m not done.
They really do take over! But you get to feed all of your friends.
I am such a gardening failure, but every year I am somehow determined to try again!
Alana, your next book should be on the kitchen garden for the extremely busy…I think it’s a great topic that many can relate to.
Oh, it’s in there, Anna. Not a whole book, but I’ve got a section! 🙂
Sounds like my battle with the vegetable patch! Every year I’m convinced that this year will be different, I will harvest the food, I will weed and water it regularly. So far no success, but I have high hopes for this year…