Sunchokes may also be known as Jerusalem Artichokes, but they are no artichoke. In fact they are all brown and knobby and look a lot more like overgrown ginger (but don’t taste like ginger) than anything else. I feel like we’ve been seeing sunchokes everywhere (Top Chef anyone?). Lately they’ve been all over restaurant menus too — from fried to pureed — which I really enjoyed — and I was excited to see the sunchoke recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking.

I whipped up a bunch of the roasted sunchokes with artichoke hearts today during the Super Bowl — although “whipped up” is probably a little bit of an exaggeration because it took longer than I expected. I sliced up the sunchokes and placed them into lemon water so they wouldn’t get brown / oxidized, but then they were too wet when I put them in the pan to brown them, so it took a long time to get the nice brown color. The second batch (I did extra) I drained and patted dry first, and they browned up nicely. Next time, I’d make sure they were a little drier before frying, and get a nice brown crustiness on all of them.

[aside: Oh, and the big deal with the oven-safe skillet I used? I did get it out of the oven safely, obviously using an oven mitt, but then once I put it down on the stove, I kept forgetting it was still hot and trying to grab the handle. Ouch. Luckily no big burns. And next time I am just going to put a sheath (if I can find it - it's been missing for a while) or an oven mitt on it so I don't grab it.]

Overall — liked the dish, and the lemony-tangy-ness of the sauce. Liked the crispy-chewy mix of textures in the sunchokes themselves, and the artichokes also made a nice complement. But, I’m not in love with it. Still like sunchokes though and am still determined to find a go-to recipe for them that really pops. Next time I’ll try another approach, maybe chopping the sunchokes into smaller pieces and tossing them in some olive oil and garlic.

Pan-Roasted Sunchokes and Artichoke Hearts with Lemon-Herb Butter

• 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. medium sunchokes, scrubbed and cut (original recipe says 3/4″ wedges, I like a little thinner and smaller, say 1/4-1/2″)
• Kosher salt
• 8 oz. frozen quartered artichoke hearts, thawed (surprised but these are actually pretty good)
• 2 Tbs. finely chopped shallot (used my Cuisinart mini-prep for this – super quick)
• 3 Tbs. dry vermouth
• 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (of course I used extra butter. we are talking about me here – but I also had extra sunchoke so I used that as my excuse)
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon (I amped up the tarragon a bit from this to almost a 1:1 ratio with the parsley)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to
400°F with a rack in the top-third of the oven.

Use an ovenproof skillet. Heat the oil until shimmering hot and fry the sunchokes (scatter a pinch of salt over) until well-browned on each side. The original recipe says 2-3 minutes each side but your mileage may vary (mine were longer because my sunchokes were wet). Toss the artichoke hearts in and another pinch of salt and continue frying and stirring occasionally till the artichoke hearts are a little brown, probably another 2-3 minutes (that was about right for me).

Place the skillet in the oven for about 20 minutes. We’re aiming for the sunchokes to be tender and if you cut them a little smaller they will cook faster. Remove from the oven and turn them out of the pan into a bowl, cover with foil. Put the skillet back on the stove (medium heat) and cook the shallot till soft and brown. Deglaze the pan with the vermouth — and keep going until the vermouth is almost gone. At this point, ower the heat, add the lemon juice (a healthy squeeze if you’re eyeballing it), and then add the butter a little at a time to let it melt and incorporate into the sauce. After all the butter is in — stir in the herbs, and pour the sunchokes and artichokes back into the pan to coat the veggies with the sauce and to heat through.

(adapted from Fine Cooking magazine)

We try to incorporate a lot of interesting whole grains into our diet — and quinoa is one of our favorites. But just boiling it up and tossing in some salt, pepper and oil is not that interesting, and even the lusciousness of tossing in some easily melting cheese like crescenza gets repetitive. So when I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking, I couldn’t wait to try it.

I whipped up a batch as the side dish for our dinner tonight (braised short ribs again — I meant to do tequila-braise but we ended up with beer braised again… still delicious). It’s easy, quick, and healthy.

We used red quinoa as the recipe calls for which gives it that beautiful color — but I also had to use some other “tri-color mix” to make a full cup, and it doesn’t matter what kind of quinoa you use, really. For the dried fruits, I followed the instructions on the raisins (golden in this case) and dried apricot, but for a little extra flavor I also threw in a couple of dried mission figs. I toasted the almonds in the toaster oven (I <3 my new Breville oven!) and roughly chopped them — they were a little too big chunks, so next time I would either chop them more or not include them; to me they were not needed.

With all that “healthiness” it’s nice to know it’s tasty too. Well, Deborah Madison (oh former goddess of Greens Restaurant) gets the credit for this recipe so that’s no surprise. The avocado helps hold the quinoa together and brings a nice richness of bite to the dish… with the sweet chewiness of the raisins, apricots and figs to set it off. The lemon, cumin, paprika and coriander combine with the flavors and kind of meld them together; it’s not a sour taste but rather a bright freshness. Since it takes dried fruit it can be made in any season, but it tastes a little like springtime.

Quinoa and Avocado Salad with Dried Fruit and Lemon-Cumin Vinaigrette

• 3 Tbs. raisins (I used golden)
• 2 Tbs. dried apricots, thinly sliced

Feel free to swap in or add additional dried fruits. I sliced up a couple of dried mission figs; I could see cranberries working, dried cherries, etc.

• 1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed well
• Kosher salt
• 1 large lemon
• 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
• 2 medium firm-ripe avocados (6 to 7 oz. each)
• 2 medium scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 Tbs. coarsely chopped toasted almonds
• Freshly ground black pepper

Soak the dried fruits in hot water a couple of minutes, and then drain and set aside.
Then, cook the quinoa — bring the quinoa to a boil (pinch of salt and 2 cups of water), then cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. The quinoa will have become tender and “bloomed”, and the white squiggles will be visible. Fluff the quinoa and then pour it onto a baking sheet so it can cool.

While the quinoa is cooling, zest the lemon and squeeze about a tablespoon of juice out. Whisk the zest and juice with the olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and a pinch of salt.

Wait until you’re ready to serve the salad — then prep the avocado — pit, peel and cut into ~1/2 inch chunks (mine may have been closer to 1/4 inch, which was still substantial enough). Toss the vinaigrette with the quinoa, dried fruit, avocado, scallions, and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

(adapted from Fine Cooking magazine)

I’ve been in love with Fine Cooking’s Cauliflower Soup with Marcona Almond and Piquillo Pepper Relish since finding it in the December issue last year and whipping up a batch for the holidays. Who wouldn’t love a recipe that’s super easy to whip up but tastes elegant and exquisite? With the added bonus of being “customizable” to taste with your personal amount of relish?

The recipe suggests orange cauliflower, but when I saw this beautiful head of purple cauliflower at the store, I couldn’t resist the thought of a bowl of lavender soup.  The only question was, would the color actually carry through?

And the answer is… the cooking water turned a marvelously glowingly intense shade of violet, and the cauliflower still a beautiful pale lilac. And when blended all up, the soup was a gorgeous pale purple. And seriously, when I brought it to the table, the first reaction of guests was “OMG what’s that?” Followed by “Yum.”

As for the relish — I decided to replace the almonds with hazelnuts because, well, because I just love hazelnuts. And while you can eat the soup without the relish (it’s deliciously creamy without a touch of cream), the relish transforms the soup as it is stirred in… it changes and sharpens the flavors and gives the tastebuds a little “Aha!”

The picture doesn’t do it justice. I just couldn’t take a good picture of a bowl of soup.

Purple Cauliflower Soup with Hazelnut Relish

For the soup

• Salt and pepper
• 1 medium head of cauliflower — purple obviously if you want this color, otherwise any type — cut into florets
• 4 tbs of unsalted butter

For the relish

• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted lightly and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup jarred roasted red/yellow peppers, rinsed, seeded, and finely diced
• 2 Tbs. hazelnut oil (or EVOO if preferred)
• 1 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh mint
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Boil 6 cups water with one teaspoon of salt. Boil the cauliflower until very
tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the cauliflower in a colander set over a
large bowl to catch the cooking liquid and let the cauliflower cool
slightly. Working in 2 batches, purée each batch of cauliflower with 2 cups of the
cooking liquid and 2 Tbs. of the butter in a blender until very smooth.
Season to taste with salt. (The soup can be made up to 4 hours ahead.)

In a small bowl, combine the hazelnuts, peppers, oil, mint, garlic, and
pepper flakes Season to taste with salt and pepper. (The relish can be
made up to 1 hour ahead.)

When ready to serve, gently reheat the soup over medium-low heat.
Garnish each serving with a spoonful of the hazelnut relish.

(adapted from fine cooking magazine)