maple-glazed sunchokes and shiitakes
first frost season
Maple-glazed sunchokes and shiitakes make a cozy side dish for the cold nights of spring and fall. In this recipe sunchokes are treated like potatoes- boiled in salted water until tender and then browned in a cast iron pan along with shiitake mushrooms. Earthy-sweet sunchokes and earthy-smoky shiitake mushrooms pair beautifully together. And as they finish cooking, they are coated with a maple syrup, vinegar, and butter glaze that takes this dish to the next level.
sunchokes
Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, are a wild sunflower species native to Central and North America. Their edible tubers taste slightly sweet, with an earthy and nutty flavor and are used similarly to potatoes and carrots. Sunchokes can also be eaten raw- their crunchiness makes for great pickles (check out our guide to quick pickle any vegetable). They are high in fiber, potassium, iron, and other important micronutrients.
Sunchokes are in season in early spring and fall, when there are regular frosts but the ground isn’t fully frozen. Exposure to frost (or refrigeration) is important in the taste and digestabilibty of sunchokes. The tubers are full of the polysaccharide inulin, which in the cold gets converted to fructose. Inulin doesn’t taste the best and sunchokes not exposed to cold temperatures will have an unpleasant aftertaste. But sunchokes harvested after cold exposure will have a higher fructose-content and taste slightly sweet. Inulin offers another challenge in addition to taste- our bodies aren’t able to digest it. Instead bacteria in the colon break down inulin, which can cause digestive gas and cramping. Though after some of the inulin has been converted to fructose following cold exposure, sunchokes contain a lower amount of inulin that isn’t a digestive concern for most people.
Our community garden is really just one gigantic sunchoke colony, which can be a pain to weed, but makes for abundant foraging. If you don’t have your own local sunchoke field, sunchokes are often sold in fall and early spring at farmers markets, food Co-ops, and natural health foods stores.
other ways to use sunchokes
- thinly slice raw to add to salads
- pureed into soups
- made into quick pickles
- add to stews along with other root vegetables
maple-glazed sunchokes and shiitakes
Ingredients
- 16 oz sunchokes
- 8 oz shiitake mushrooms
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1½ tsp fine sea salt, divided plus more for boiling the sunchokes
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp unseasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- chopped chives or parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
- Prep the veggies: scrub any dirt off sunchokes; trim and discard any discolored pieces. Cut cleaned tubers into ½ inch cubes. Clean the shiitakes, trim off tough stems, and thinly slice.
- Place sunchokes in a medium pot of well salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to maintain a simmer, and cook for 12-15 minutes, until the sunchokes are tender and easily pierced with a fork. Drain.
- As sunchokes cook, heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large cast iron pan over medium heat. Add shiitakes and ½ tsp salt and stir to coat. Sauté, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are cooked and well-browned, 8-10 minutes. When cooked, transfer mushrooms to serving dish and set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to the now empty cast iron pan along with drained sunchokes. Cook over medium-high heat until well browned, about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Turn down heat to low and return shiitakes to the pan. Add maple syrup, rice wine vinegar, and remaining 1 tsp of salt. Stir well as the syrup begins to bubble. Turn off heat and add butter. Stir until butter is melted and incorporated into the sauce and the vegetables are coated with the glaze. Transfer to serving dish, garnish with a sprinkle of chives or parsley, and serve immediately.
I got to taste this as Sam was testing it out and it was one the best dishes I’ve ever had!
Made this for the second year in a row (following fall harvest) and loved it