Darina Allen: Three recipes you have to try with my favourite underrated winter vegetable

Unearthing the underrated, yet brilliant Jerusalem artichokes

Here are a few recipes to whet your appetite for Jerusalem artichokes

As promised, this week’s column is completely devoted to what is probably my favourite but most underrated winter vegetable — the Jerusalem artichoke. Despite their name, they’ve got nothing to do with Jerusalem and aren’t even related to artichokes. The flavour is reminiscent of globe artichoke hearts: Sweet and nutty. The name appears to be an adaptation of girasole, the Italian word for sunflowers.

They wouldn’t win any prizes in a veggie beauty contest. They resemble misshapen, knobbly potatoes and can be white, pale purple, or yellow depending on the strain.

The variety we grow has been passed down from generation to generation in the Allen family. They are ridiculously easy to cultivate, just pop into the soil like potatoes once the weather is dry from the end of February/early March, allowing about 9-12cm between each one. Next winter, you’ll be rewarded with at least eight or 10 plump rhizomes where you planted a single Jerusalem artichoke.

In the US, they are called sunchokes — they are in fact a species of the sunflower family. The foliage grows about eight to 10 feet tall. The yellow flowers in August resemble small sunflowers and are loved by bees. You could plant them at the back of an herbaceous flower bed to give height and colour. Some folks have had fun creating an annual maze with them — how fun is that?

The leaves are frost tender, but the tubers are hardy and can stay in the ground throughout the winter. We harvest from November right through to the end of February even into March, depending on the weather. They begin to sprout if it’s particularly mild.

Choose the largest rhizomes and replant in a different location so the next harvest will be healthy and fulsome too.

Some supermarkets are now selling Jerusalem artichokes, you’ll also find them at Midleton and Mahon Point Farmers’ Market and the English Market in Cork City.

If you haven’t already got some growing in your garden, jump into the car and make a pilgrimage to our Farm Shop in Shanagarry, I’ll give you a present of a few artichokes. Where you plant one artichoke, you’ll have 10 next year — it’s like magic!

By the way, Jerusalem artichokes have the highest inulin content of any vegetable, super important to stimulate the microbes in your gut biome, so here’s a really valuable tip. If you’ve recently been on a course of antibiotics, go out of your way to get some Jerusalem artichokes. I love the flavour but for some they can be a little difficult to digest, hence the nickname ‘fartichokes’ but that’s just an indication that they are definitely stimulating your gut biome!

So now what to do with this ugly vegetable?

They are wonderfully versatile; of course they make a delicious soup which I sometimes scatter with chorizo crumbs or add a topping of avocado and hazelnut salsa. We love to roast them until the edges are caramelised, they’re delicious hot or cold, as a side or as a basis for a salad.

Slice them thinly and fry until crisp for artichoke chips. Slice and cook to melting tenderness in butter or extra virgin olive oil, whizz to a purée and mix with mashed potato — so good! They also work brilliantly in a gratin layered up with potato and maybe celeriac or parsnip. That can be an entire meal, maybe with a few bacon or pancetta lardons added.

Now you see why I am so passionate about raising awareness of probably the most underrated of all winter vegetables!

Here are a few recipes to whet your appetite.

Roast Jerusalem Artichoke & Hazelnut Salad

recipe by:Darina Allen

Everyone loved this delicious combination — a recent addition to our repertoire. The winter salad is particularly good with goose, duck, pheasant, or as a starter.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Starter

Ingredients

• 450g Jerusalem artichokes, well-scrubbed

• 2 tbsp sunflower or extra virgin olive oil

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• For the salsa

• 1 ripe avocado, halved, stone removed, peeled and diced into neat 1cm dice

• 3 tbsp of hazelnuts, roasted, skinned and coarsely chopped

• 3 tbsp of hazelnut or olive oil

• 1 tbsp of chopped flat parsley

• Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• To garnish

• Sprigs of flat parsley

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6. Leave the artichokes whole or cut in half lengthways, if large.

2. Toss the Jerusalem artichokes with the oil. Season well with salt.

3. Bake in a shallow gratin dish or roasting tin for 20 to 30 minutes until soft and caramelised at the edges. Test with the tip of a knife — they should be mostly tender but offer some resistance. Season with pepper and serve.

4. Meanwhile, make the avocado and roast hazelnut salsa.

5. Mix the ingredients for the avocado and hazelnut garnish. Taste and correct seasoning. This mixture will sit quite happily in your fridge for an hour as the oil coating the avocado will prevent it from discolouring.

6. To serve: When the artichokes are cooked, allow to cool, sprinkle with avocado and hazelnut salsa. Toss gently, taste and tweak the seasoning if necessary.

7. Scatter with sprigs of flat parsley.

Pan-grilled Scallops with Jerusalem Artichoke Purée

recipe by:Darina Allen

Jerusalem artichokes are wonderfully versatile

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• 8 super fresh scallops

• sea salt

• For the purée

• 450g Jerusalem artichokes (weighed after peeling)

• 450g potatoes, scrubbed clean

• 4 tbsp cream

• 25g butter

• salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)

• To serve

• extra virgin olive oil

• flakes of sea salt

• little sprigs of chervil

Method

1. First make the artichoke purée.

2. Cook the artichokes and potatoes separately in boiling salted water until tender and completely cooked through.

3. Peel the potatoes immediately and place them with the hot artichokes in a food processor. Add the cream and butter and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blend until a silky consistency is achieved. Taste and correct seasoning.

4. To serve, reheat the artichoke purée if necessary. Heat the pan on a high heat, dry the scallops well, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with a little salt.

5. Pan-grill the scallops for a few minutes on both sides. Put a generous tablespoon of artichoke purée on each small plate, top each one with a pan-grilled scallop, drizzle with extra virgin and sprinkle each plate with a few flakes of sea salt.

Jerusalem Artichoke Chips

recipe by:Darina Allen

We serve these delicious crisps on warm salads, as a garnish for roast pheasant or guinea fowl and as a topping for parsnip or root vegetable soup. Careful not to have the oil too hot or the crisps will quickly turn and be bitter.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• 3-4 Jerusalem artichokes

• sunflower oil

• salt

Method

1. Heat good quality oil in a deep fryer to 150°C.

2. Scrub the Jerusalem artichokes well and peel if necessary. Slice in wafer thin rounds.

3. Allow to dry out a little on kitchen paper.

4. Drop a few at a time into the hot oil. They will colour and crisp up very quickly.

5. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Hot tips

Introduction to growing your own organic produce, with Klaus Laitenberger

(Series of 10 full days: February to November 2025) at Ballymaloe Organic Farm School in Shanagarry.

This series of one-day courses, from February to November, is designed to teach participants how to grow your own organic produce. The course will be delivered by Klaus Laitenberger, soil expert and renowned educator. Klaus is author of four gardening books: ‘The Self-Sufficient Garden’, ‘Vegetables for the Irish Garden’, ‘Fruit and Vegetables for the Polytunnel and Greenhouse’ and ‘A Vegetable Grower’s Handbook’.

This course, structured across the four seasons, is for those who wish to learn the skills to start and maintain an organic food garden. Best to do the entire course but can be done individually.

Planting and caring for an orchard

Monday, 24th February 2025 at Ballymaloe Organic Farm School in Shanagarry.

This half day course provides step-by-step guidance on how to plan, design and plant a thriving apple orchard. Perfect for beginners and hobbyists, as well as those considering commercial apple production.

The intensive course covers everything from site selection and tree varieties to planting techniques and orchard management. Our tutor Christopher Troy manages his orchards organically and encourages others to adopt these regenerative principals.

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