I just made this risotto with Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchoke, French: topinambour, Dutch: aardpeer or topinamboer) and it was so good that I wanted to blog about it straight away.

Ingredients

For 2 servings I used:

400 grams (0.9 lb) Jerusalem artichokes

120 grams risotto rice (arborio)

4 tbsp freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley

salt and freshly ground black pepper

500 grams (1 pound) mixed aromatic vegetables for the stock: leeks, onions, carrots, celery stalks

1 bay leaf

1 shallot

1 glass (100 ml) of dry white wine

olive oil

optional: bit of concentrated veal or chicken stock

Preparation

First I washed and dried the Jerusalem artichokes and peeled them, keeping the peels to use for the stock.

Then I chopped the vegetables for the stock in the food processor.

I sauteed the vegetables in some olive oil until they were fragrant to enhance the flavor extraction.

I then added 750 ml (3 cups) cold water, the Jerasalem artichoke peelings and the bay leaf and brought this to a simmer.

Meanwhile, I cut the Jerusalem artichokes into cubes.

And sauteed the Jerusalem artichoke cubes in some olive oil in a frying pan. (While doing this you will notice why sunchokes are called Jerusalem artichokes: it smells just like artichokes.)

As soon as the Jerusalem artichoke was covered with oil on all sides, I seasoned with salt and covered the frying pan with a lid and lowered the heat.

It took about half an hour to cook the Jerusalem artichokes golden and al dente: tender but firm to the bite. I had to stir now and then to prevent the Jerusalem artichokes from burning.

I sieved the vegetable stock and kept it simmering. I added a bit of concentrated veal stock at this point to boost the flavor, but that was entirely optional if you’d like to keep it vegetarian. Chicken stock would also work.

I chopped a shallot.

I added the chopped shallot to the frying pan and sautéed for a bit. Then I added the rice and toasted the rice.

Then I added a glass of white wine and stirred until the wine was evaporated.

Then I kept adding stock, about 60 ml or 1/4 cup at a time, and stirring, until the rice had absorbed the stock and it was al dente (16-18 minutes).

I turned off the heat, added 3/4 of the parmigiano, the butter in small pieces and 3/4 of the chopped parsley and stirred until everything was mixed. I tasted and adjusted the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I then served on preheated plates with the remaining parsley and parmigiano. Delicious, really bringing out the flavor of the Jerusalem artichokes! (Not like normal artichokes at all, except for the smell during sautéing.)