A Salad of Jerusalem Artichokes, Cabbage, Mushrooms and Hazelnuts

A nice winter salad this one – Jerusalem artichokes arrived in our veg bag this week, and a bit of googling tells us that they are not, in fact, an artichoke, nor are they from Jerusalem – they’re a member of the sunflower family. The knobbly tubers are similar to potatoes, but much harder to peel because they’re so god-damn knobbly. Quite an unique taste – sweet and distinctively nutty, in the kitchen they behave much like potatoes. You can boil ‘em, roast ‘em, gratinate ‘em, mash ‘em and probably even make chips with ‘em. I opted for the par-boil and roast option (along with a few fat cloves of garlic), roasting for about half an hour til they turned a bit crispy and caramelised. Team them up with some lightly boiled savoy cabbage, some slowly sautéed onion and mushroom, some toasted hazelnuts (half of them bashed until they crumble), a good dressing of olive oil and apple balsamic, and a warm slice of buttered toast and you have a light, unusual, and really rather classy supper.

The only thing to bare in mind here is that jerusalem artichokes, while delicious, rival even swede and baked beans with their ability to make you fart. Not necessarily a problem in my book, but if you’re expecting company then perhaps they’re not the veg of choice…..