This delicious Sunchoke Bisque recipe is a great way to introduce yourself to cooking with sunchokes. The sunflower seed granola recipe makes a terrific garnish to a variety of soups and dishes. Always keep some handy.
Firstly – Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem artichokes), are an edible tuber that grows underground, much like a potato. They look a little bit like large chunks of ginger, and taste
slightly nutty, and savory like a cross between an artichoke heart and a mildly sweet potato. There are plenty of ways to use them, but they do lend themselves perfectly to soups and purees.
By popular request, Chef Andrew shares his recipe for Sunchoke Bisque. Enjoy!
Prep note: Have a blender on hand
Recipe yields 8-10 6 oz servings
Ingredients:
5 lb sunchokes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
3 Large Leeks, sliced thin and washed
2 Large Spanish Onions, julienned
½ cup butter (unsalted if available)
¼ cup Olive Oil
Chicken Stock or water, to cover (use vegetable stock if preferred)
Heavy cream, to taste
Salt, to taste
Method:
- In a medium size pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then the leeks and onions. Add a pinch of salt to help extract moisture from the vegetables. Sweat, stirring often, until vegetables are translucent and completely tender, about 30 minutes. Turn heat to low if needed—try not to get any color on the vegetables.
- Add the sunchokes. Stir to coat, then add enough chicken stock or water to cover the sunchokes. Simmer gently until the sunchokes are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Once cooked, add to blender in batches and puree until very smooth.
- At this point, we pass the soup through a very finely meshed sieve called a chinois. If you don’t have one, this step can be omitted though the resulting soup will not be as silky.
- Once soup is all blended – transfer to a holding container. Add cold heavy cream and salt to taste. We like our soup to be not too thick but still have body. If you add enough cream for your taste but the soup is still too thick, add water until desired consistency.
We use a variety of garnishes as the mood strikes. Here are some ideas:
- Pickled Radishes
- Pickled Pearl Onions
- Toasted Sunflower Seeds (sunchokes are a tuber of a sunflower plant)
- Roasted chopped hazelnuts
- Fried Sunchoke Chips (like potato chips made with sunchokes)
- Pesto (though it will turn soup green)
One of our favorite garnishes is Sunflower Seed Granola:
Sunflower Seed Granola Recipe: Easy and versatile. Use this on a variety of dishes, soups, and salads.
Ingredients: Sunflower seeds / quick oats / a little honey / black pepper / dash of salt / oil
Method: Preheat oven at 350. Blend all ingredients. Prep a baking pan with parchment lightly coated with oil. Bake 15-20 minutes – stirring & tossing every few minutes for even cooking. Cool. Break up into small pieces.
Hope you enjoy! FYI, Sunchokes are best in the fall/winter, but they can usually be found year ’round.
BONUS: Check out our online recipe files for more terrific recipes from the Rabbit Hill Inn kitchen. Use the search box for specific interests.
