Before getting married I was not aware of sunchokes – never had them as a kid. Luckily my husband knew them. When they are in the season – which is around January in Turkey I always buy them. As a family we like them as a fruit and eat them just like we would eat an apple – but ofcourse peeling them first. In Turkish the sunchokes are called ground apples, which makes it more natural that we eat them as a fruit.
I was surprised to learn how healthy the sunchokes are. They are good for many things from your tummy, to complexion, to immune system; but most of all for diabetes. So I guess it is not to miss a chance the have these whenever you have the opportunity.
A good option might be this recipe, prepare a fresh, light olive oil dish and serve it as a side dish for your family. It is very easy, peeling might take some time, but that is all there is to it. Right after you peel the sunchokes toss them in a bowl of water with lemon juice in it so they do not darken. You can add potatoes, carrots and even rice to this recipe. I chose to go only with sunchokes and carrots. I used orange use to increase the flavor, some also use mandarin orange.
Garnish with chopped parsley or dill and lemon wedges.
Enjoy – Afiyet olsun.
Sunchokes with Orange
Ingredients
- 500 grams sunchokes pick small ones
- 2 carrots
- 2 potatoes optional
- 1 tablespoon rice optional
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves chopped or crushed
- 1 lemon
- ½ orange
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 stalks parsley or dill chopped
Instructions
- Peel the sunchokes with a sharp small knife or using the sides of a spoon. Put them immediately into a bowl of water with lemon juice in it so they do not get dark. If they are large cut them into half.
- If you choose to add potatoes peel and cut to similar sizes.
- Peel and dice the carrots.
- Slightly heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker if you have one, if not in a pot. Add chopped onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until they are translucent, then add chopped garlic cloves and stir for an additional minute.
- Rinse the sunchokes and potatoes and add to the onions. Also add the carrots, stir for a minute.
- Add the salt, sugar, half a lemon’s juice and half an orange juice.
- Add enough warm water to cover the bottom of the pot.
- When the water boils add rinsed rice if you decide to use it.
- Cook with first high, and then low heat until the sunchokes are ready. Test with a fork. They cook pretty fast.
- Keep the lid covered while cooking. Also after removing from the heat, keep the pot covered until the pot cools down.
- Serve chilled, garnish with chopped dill or parsley and lemon wedges.