Friday, November 7, 2014

Jerusalem Artichokes (Soup, and Roasted with Garlic)

We could not locate the Jerusalem artichokes a few weeks back so made that a makeup week. Finally secured, we tested both of Dorie's recipes from "Around My French Table" this week. 

Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes with Garlic
Per Nana~
After checking a few supermarkets in the area searching for the 
Jerusalem artichokes with no luck, Tricia was able to locate them 
at her local farmer's market. 
Unfortunately, there really isn't too much to be said for this vegetable. 
It does not have much flavor so I tried to spice it up a bit.  It went well 
with the slices of garlic and looked nice when roasted, but I really did not 
care for the vegetable.  I look forward to seeing how it does in the soup
 recipe but on it's own it did not impress. 
Per Tricia~
I was very excited to try this veggie, given all the hoopla about locating them.
 Frankly I didn't think a roasted veggie with garlic could actually
 go wrong,but this one proved otherwise. Big time. 
While I didn't mind the adventure of procuring the "sunchokes", I did find the 
novelty wore off when I tried to peel the bumpy, awkwardly shaped little things. 
( I also decided the skin would be just fine roasted....)
Overall, I found the results to be extremely bland, even after roasting with garlic. 
I enjoy other "bland" foods such as rice or potatoes, but the Jerusalem artichokes
 did not have any redeeming qualities in my book. Hubby tasted one and called it
 a loss and my son would not take a bite. Ironically, the toughest ingredient
 to find recently ....ended up in the garbage disposal. The recipe was simple enough
 but if you don't care for the star ingredient, it just doesn't matter.
At least we learned what this "new to us" veggie was all about.  
And to double check the next time we reach for fresh ginger.......

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
Per Nana~
This week's recipe for Jerusalem artichoke soup is the second time
 in a month that we have used this vegetable.  When we first roasted it
 with sliced garlic I did not care for it but I was hoping that when we 
prepared the soup, adding leeks and onions and then cooking it in
 broth would improve it. Unfortunately, it did not. 
I found the end result extremely bland.  
Rather than use the parsley coulis, I decided to add some Parmesan
 cheese on top and a bit of chopped parsley.  I am sorry to say that this 
recipe did not go over "big" in our house. 

Per Tricia~
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me". 
So goes the old saying and that is exactly what went through my mind
 this week when we hit round two for Jerusalem artichokes.
I made the executive decision to sub potatoes and create a soup that had
 a chance of my family eating it. We have enjoyed all of the soups from
 this cookbook and this one, sans the sunchokes, was no exception.  
Potatoes and leeks are a well known combo and given the chill that has 
hit the air, I doubled the recipe and was glad I did. We all enjoyed it and
 I know I will be reaching for this book when I want to make a soup even 
if I don't have the exact items called for- as usual Dorie provides
 a roadmap and liberal allowance for creativity.

Happy French Friday ~

13 comments:

  1. And this is why I just love you ladies...great minds think alike. I cannot stand Jerusalem artichokes! I think the technique in both recipes is great, "sans the Jerusalem artichoke"! Well, at least now you know.

    Have a great weekend!

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  2. That's too bad that none of you enjoyed the Jerusalem artichokes. I've read that they need a hard frost to become truly flavourful, so maybe we were a little early with these recipes. I agree with you, Tricia, Dorie provides wonderful templates for experimenting with ingredients and flavours in her recipes. Your potato soup looks wonderful.

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  3. Ooph! That's too bad! I spotted Jerusalem artichokes in the supermarket yesterday, so I'll have to make up these recipes soon. I hope I like them more than you did!

    The rainbow chard at your market is BEAUTIFUL. I'd find it impossible not to buy that beautiful bundle of color.

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  4. Ha! Now that I've tried them twice, I'm certain I can happily live my life without tasting them again :) Glad you got a yummy soup, Tricia,"inspired" by the JA recipe!

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  5. Such a bummer that neither of you liked the sunchokes! And I do love that old adage about fooling twice, since it is true. The potatoes have seemed like a great sub for many people so I'm glad that worked out for you! Beautiful photos, regardless of your actual thoughts on the dish.

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  6. I didn't mind them, but I wouldn't take the trouble to find them again. And I agree about peeling all those knobbly surfaces. Potatoes are much better! You both get credit for trying a new taste. (As my mother used to say, "Green Eggs and Ham!".

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  7. As always, I just love your post! I never found the chokes, and I'm ok with it. I did make a faux version of the soup with potatoes and artichokes. It was ok, but I'm hoping that when I use some others' suggestion of pesto, it will be better (BTW, I love the camouflage of the soup with all of that cheese, Ro!!!)

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  8. I'm in the 'never say never' camp, but if I ever get around trying the sunchokes it will not be at home. Sometimes we need to indulge into that curiosity.

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  9. So sorry this one was a failure for both of you! I actually didn’t mind them…roasted they were good, but I loved the soup…however, I did do a half sunchoke/ half potato version! Quite tasty! You have both earned a big star for trying!! Now let’s move on to next week!! Have a great weekend, Ladies!

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  10. Well kudos to you for making the second recipe after hating the first. I never found the elusive artichokes and don't plan to give the cool response from most.

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  11. Oh, such a bummer. I am sorry these were a miss for both of you.

    I really like JA's, but after seeing how many people didn't like them I am starting to wonder what is wrong with me :-)

    Have a great week ladies!

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  12. That's too bad, but it's still fun to try something new and now you know that you don't need to go through the trouble again. I have to wonder, though, if different varieties taste different because mine had a very distinct flavor and I could easily see why some compare the flavor to that of an artichoke heart.

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  13. You both did a wonderful job with these two recipes, roasted sunchokes and the cream of sunchoke (potato) soup - kudos for going the extra mile to try out both recipes - a bit sad that this particular vegetable did not receive too much applause but there is a wonderful recipe ahead on Friday and so many other wonderful ones still to come!
    Hope you are having a good week,
    Andrea

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