Jerusalem artichokes have an interesting history. There is no connection between this tuber and the city that bears the same name; they were originally cultivated by Native Americans. The most common theory behind their current name stems from the fact that Italian immigrants named them girasole, which later became “girasole artichoke”, which then eventually developed into “Jerusalem artichoke”. Its other name, sunchoke, is a relatively new name for the tuber that stems from the fact that its flowers look a lot like sunflowers.
While only distantly related to artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes still carry a distinct (okey dokey) artichokey flavor when cooked. They have a similar texture to potatoes. They’re one of my favorite starches because of their versatility; they can be eaten raw or cooked, they don’t need to be peeled, and they taste good both gently cooked and fully roasted.
Oven Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes)
2 lbs Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp cooking fat (lard, duck fat, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil)
1. Pre-heat your oven to 400F. Wash and pat dry the artichokes, then thinly slice with a knife or use a mandolin on its thickest setting. You want the slices to be a little thicker than thick-cut potato chips, about 1/4″ thick. There is no need to remove the edible peel from the artichokes – trying to do so is an exercise in frustration.
2. Loosely arrange the sliced artichokes on a baking sheet. It doesn’t need to be perfect, and it’s okay if they don’t all fit on one layer. Jerusalem artichokes are extremely forgiving, and are delicious both crispy and not so crispy. Personally, I like to arrange them haphazardly since the dual textures of crispy and not crispy are a delicious combination. And it’s so much easier and fun to eat different textures at once. Season with the salt, pepper, and thyme, then drizzle with your preferred cooking fat.
3. Place the artichokes on your lowest oven rack, bake for 20 minutes, then shake and toss the artichokes with a spatula. Rotate your pan and roast for another 15-20 minutes, until the artichokes are golden but before they’re a deep brown color. Cool for 5 minutes then enjoy.
If you arrange the artichokes so that they’re all flush against the pan, they’ll cook more evenly; personally, I like the haphazard arrangement you see above.
The Domestic Man 
Love these, just be careful no to over-eat them as the digestive system could be in for a shock.
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Just curious, why is that? I really love making chips of these but haven’t been able to find them for a while now.
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It has to do with a non-digestive fiber, I believe–inulin. Same thing is found in jicama. It doesn’t affect everyone, but it’s really unpleasant if it does, take my word for it!
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I made sunchoke mashed potatoes a few years ago to go along with normal mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. We had leftovers, and both me and my husband had the most noxious gas for the 3 days following Turkey day. I love them, but I just can’t handle the total reduction of air quality caused by these bad boys.
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I just made this recipe yesterday and had a large amount with some shrimp and veggies. And oh boy. It ripped me up big time. I was in digestive distress for the whole day. They did NOT agree with my insides. Granted I have a messed up digestive system, but this was something else. I was wondering if you cook them longer if they would be more digestible…
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Reeb, sorry to hear that. Some people have an inherent issue with digesting them, so that may have been the culprit. How do you fare with jicama? I’m not sure that an extended cooking time would fix the issue if you had that extreme of a reaction to them…
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One of the foods my allergies prevent me from eating is potatoes. I’m so glad to have discovered this potato replacement! Especially if the flavor is reminiscent of my beloved artichokes. :) Thank you so much for this!
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I love sunchokes! And somehow you managed to make them look pretty with your gorgeous photos.
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this is great as we just got a pound of sunchokes in our produce bin and I was debating on what to do with them.
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I’m going to hunt around for sunchokes this weekend. I’m on the prowl for home made snacks to bring with me to school so I don’t eat all the goodies that end up in the student lounge.
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These are one of my favorite, I’ve roasted them in halves or wedges, can’t wait to try these as slices.
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doing this
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I’ve always wanted to try these. I never see them in my local market so I’ll need to hunt them down a bit.
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Love sunchokes for their great flavor & like you say, you don’t need to do much to enjoy them. Great recipe man!
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Thanks!
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This looks amazing!! Where do you buy sunchokes? I’ve never seen them before.
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I’ve found them off and on in several of my local markets, the prices can vary drastically so be sure to keep an eye out!
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Russ, do you grow these in your garden? If so, how easy to grow? Whole Foods has them but they never look very fresh and they’re $6 per pound. I never see them at the farmers market. Seems like this would be a great recipe for parsnips too, as a sub.
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Susan, I don’t grow them but we’re thinking about adding them soon! They are very easy to grow, they’re simply the tuber of a perennial flower plant. I agree re: parsnips!
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OH MY GOD where do you live? HOW did you find these? WHERE did you find these???? I’ve been living in the US for about 13 years now, and have NEVER seen these in a store. I grew up eating j.a’s!!! I saw in the comments someone saying Whole Foods; I’ll re-check the one here (Houston).
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I live in Baltimore, found them at a random local market. They’re super easy to grow, if you have some land you might be able to start a Houston trend! :)
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