The first time I heard about Jerusalem artichoke about 20 years ago, and from crosswords, since I often came across a question about an earthen pear, but somehow I couldn’t remember the word “Jerusalem artichoke” itself, it seemed like it was such an exotic vegetable, or fruit, which you will not meet us.
But once in the garden of my friends I saw thickets of some tall grass (the stems of some specimens are taller than human growth), with relatively small yellow flowers, similar to a small sunflower that grew instead of a hedge along the perimeter of the plot, almost like a weed. But it turned out that this is the same Jerusalem artichoke that I could not remember.
When I pulled out of the ground tubers that did not resemble any pear at all, but rather like uneven, knobby potatoes. It turned out that these tubers can be eaten raw, as they should be washed from the ground, and that they are very useful, especially for people with diabetes (actually for this they were grown by the owners in that garden). I read later that from the tubers of an earthen pear in the United States (and the homeland of Jerusalem artichoke, who does not know it, is North America) they even make coffee substitute for dietary purposes.
Since I took myself (or rather parents) a few tubers of this unpretentious plant for cultivation, at the same time I became interested in what kind of Jerusalem artichoke dishes can be prepared, because I just didn’t really want to bite this earthen pear, no matter how useful it is, yes and the elderly are not always tough.
It turned out that you can cook the most uncomplicated Jerusalem artichoke dishes that do not require any preliminary culinary processing (such as salads), but you can heat them - stew or fry - the dishes only benefit from this.
I offer several recipes of what Jerusalem artichoke dishes can be prepared at home.
Grated Jerusalem artichoke salads
These salads are the easiest, because you just pass peeled 2–3–4 (depending on their size) Jerusalem artichoke tubers through a grater, add finely chopped garlic (one clove is enough), salt to taste and season with mayonnaise. You can add your favorite greens here.
You can mix Jerusalem artichoke with grated carrots, add a few drops of lemon juice, season with calcined vegetable oil - this is another option for a light vitamin salad.
Jerusalem artichoke dishes go well with a sour apple. Add to the grated Jerusalem artichoke an apple, passed through a grater, and finely chopped, slightly mashed cabbage, mix everything with your favorite greens and season with sour cream or mayonnaise (or, as in the previous case, sprinkle with lemon juice and pour oil).
Now consider the Jerusalem artichoke, dishes from which are subjected to heat treatment. I personally prefer to cook pancakes or Jerusalem artichoke cutlets.
To prepare the cutlets, Jerusalem artichoke and cabbage are taken in a ratio of 1: 1 (half a kilogram of both), a couple of tablespoons of flour, 2 eggs, salt, a half glass of cream, vegetable oil for frying and breadcrumbs for boning cutlets.
Thoroughly chop the cabbage, peel the Jerusalem artichoke and grate it, combine with cabbage, mix and add the cream, stew until vegetables are cooked in a deep frying pan under the lid (or in a pan).
Drive eggs into the resulting hot mass, add salt and quickly mix with flour until a smooth consistency is obtained, such as mashed potatoes (preferably in a blender). Form cutlets, roll them in breadcrumbs and then fry, like ordinary cutlets, on both sides (turn carefully so as not to break).
Serve these cutlets to the table with sour cream sauce.
If possible, plant an earthen pear on your site - this plant does not require special care (besides, it is perennial and will grow by itself), and then Jerusalem artichoke dishes will become another source of healthy food on your table!