A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015
FOOD COLUMN
KITCHEN DIVA PHOTO
Like many tubers, sunchokes look a little strange.
But when it comes to food, looks often can be
deceiving. A sunchoke is the tasty, knobby root
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America was more popular in Europe than in the
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SUNCHOKE CHIPS WITH PARMESAN AND PARSLEY
2 pounds unpeeled sunchokes
(also called Jerusalem artichokes),
scrubbed
Vegetable oil (for frying)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
MORE THAN
SKIN DEEP
ers. Many small organic
farms also are successfully
growing sunchokes, so look
for them at farm stands and
THE KITCHEN DIVA
farmers’ markets (they re-
What is that?” This is semble a ginger root). The
what someone is sure to crop does have its down-
ask you at the checkout side: It has a tendency to
counter when you load your grow wild, and can be inva-
Jerusalem Artichoke, better sive, presenting challenges
known as a Sunchoke, on for farmers and backyard
the conveyor. You’ll proudly gardeners alike.
do a little promotional pitch
As a healthy addition
for the vegetable. “You to our diet, sunchokes
should try them. They’re are a low-glycemic food,
delicious! Like a cross DQG SRVVHVV D VLJQL¿FDQW
between an artichoke heart amount of protein and very
and a potato.”
little starch. They also are
Like many tubers, sun- rich in inulin, a natural
chokes look a little strange. fructose type of carbohy-
But when it comes to food, drate. Inulin is thought to
looks often can be deceiv- be better tolerated by those
ing. A sunchoke is the tasty, with Type 2 diabetes.
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When shopping for
Until recently, this native of VXQFKRNHV ORRN IRU ¿UP
North America was more brown-colored tubers. If
popular in Europe than in they’re beginning to dark-
the United States.
en, they’re not fresh. After
The sunchoke is a hardy you get them home, store
perennial that can grow in a in paper towels in a plas-
variety of conditions, and is tic bag in the refrigerator
not frost tender. With water for up to two weeks. Don’t
shortages and the growing wash your sunchokes until
cost of agriculture, farmers you’re ready to use them, as
were looking for ecologi- moisture can lead to spoil-
cally sustainable crops, and ing. Sunchokes have a thin
WKHVXQFKRNH¿WWKHLUQHHGV skin and don’t need to be
Sunchokes now are be- peeled.
ing grown both commer-
Sunchokes are extreme-
cially and by home garden- ly versatile. You can use
BY ANGELA SHELF
MEDEARIS AND GINA
HARLOW
“
BEST STAND-UP
COMEDY ON IT'S WAY
TO HERMISTON!
Melonville Comedy Festival
January 24, 2015
Hermiston Community Center
The 22nd edition of the Melonville Comedy Festival
will feature three headlining stand up comedians. The
comics have been seen on Last Comic Standing, HBO,
Comedy Central, and on the Bob and Tom Radio Show.
BRAD UPTON
,
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DUANE GOAD
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Tickets $35 per person
Special Olympics
Doors open at 7:00, Show starts at 8:00
Tickets available at
Hermiston Chamber of Commerce
for more info: 541-561-7488
No refunds
them in the same way you
typically use a potato. They
have a crunchy texture and
are delicious raw. When
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comes out. Steamed sun-
chokes can stand alone or
mixed with other vegeta-
bles, used in a gratin or to
make a delicious soup. If
you’re using sunchokes in a
creamed soup or puree and
want to remove the peel
for presentation color, pass
them through a food mill or
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This recipe for Sunchoke
Chips With Parmesan and
Parsley is a delicious alter-
native to potato chips.
— Angela Shelf Med-
earis is an award-winning
children’s author, culinary
historian and author of
seven cookbooks. Her
new cookbook is “The
Kitchen Diva’s Diabetic
Cookbook.” Her website
is www.divapro.com. To
see how-to videos, recipes
and much, much more,
Like Angela Shelf Med-
earis, The Kitchen Diva!
on Facebook. Read Gina
Harlow’s blog about food
and gardening at www.
peachesandprosciutto.com.
Recipes may not be reprint-
ed without permission from
Angela Shelf Medearis
1. Fill a large bowl with cold wa-
ter. Slice sunchokes into thin rounds
(about 1/16 inch thick), immediately
dropping into bowl of water to pre-
vent browning. Rinse and drain 3
times to remove some of the starch
for a crisper chip. Pat dry with paper
towels.
2. Pour enough oil into large deep
skillet to reach depth of 1/2 inch. Sub-
merge bulb of deep-fry thermome-
ter into oil; lean top of thermometer
against skillet rim. Heat oil to 375 F.
Mix salt, Parmesan and parsley to-
gether in small bowl, blending well,
and set aside.
3. Working in batches, fry sun-
choke slices until golden brown, 3
to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Using a skimmer, transfer chips to a
wire rack placed over a paper-lined
baking pan to drain. While chips
are hot, sprinkle with the Parmesan
Eastern
Oregon
and salt mixture. The chips won’t be
crispy immediately out of the fryer, so
wait a few minutes for them to crisp
up. Mound chips in bowl and serve.
Serves 8.
To bake the chips:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line two
baking sheets with foil and lightly
grease with cooking-oil spray. Place
slices in a single layer on the two
sheets. Spray each slice with oil, then
sprinkle salt on top.
2. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. If
they aren’t golden brown and crisp,
bake in 3 to 5 minute increments until
done. Sprinkle with topping of your
choice.
Alternate toppings:
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vor: sprinkle chips with 1/2 cup nu-
tritional yeast
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tablespoon chili powder and 1/4 tea-
spoon cayenne pepper
For salt and vinegar chips: soak
sunchokes in vinegar for 2 hours be-
fore frying. Drain and pat complete-
ly dry. Fry or bake as directed, and
sprinkle with salt.
Forum
Bridget Farley
“Russia - Deconstructing a
Dictator: Who is Vladimir Putin
and What Does He Want?”
Tuesday, January 13 th , 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
BMCC, Rm St-200, 2411 NW Carden Ave., Pendleton
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TO THE READERS OF
We have been informed that
Athlon Media Group – the
company that publishes
American Profile, Relish and
Spry magazines – will be
publishing American Profile twice
a month rather than weekly,
effective immediately.
The Hermiston Herald will continue
to distribute Athlon’s food magazine,
Relish, 11 times a year, with a
combined January/February issue.
We will also continue to distribute
Spry, the health and wellness
magazine, once a month.