Candied Jerusalem artichoke, Italian style

Rank kitchen

In spring and autumn after the frost, Jerusalem artichokes reveal incredibly sweet tubers with a unique crispness that invites you to experiment with this unloved vegetable. Moreover, the carbohydrate it contains, inulin, does not affect blood sugar levels; it is therefore suitable for diabetics. The tuber can be eaten raw, like an apple, in soups and casseroles with other roots, or candied, a preparation to which it lends itself well. Today, I propose it to you candied Italian style.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of Jerusalem artichokes
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 5 cloves of shallot, chopped
• 60 ml olive oil
• 15 ml dried oregano
• 5 ml of salt
• 500 ml diced tomatoes
• Cheese for gratin (such as Parmesan, Gruyère, etc.)

Preparation

Wash the Jerusalem artichoke tubers thoroughly with a vegetable brush. Peel any dark areas. Slice into thin 5 mm slices. In a bowl, combine the sliced ​​Jerusalem artichokes with the garlic, shallots, olive oil, oregano, and salt. Mix well then place in a 23 cm x 35 cm Pyrex dish or equivalent. Bake in the oven at 120 °C for two and a half hours. Then, pour the diced tomatoes over the mixture and bake at 180 °C for 20 minutes. Cover with cheese and bake until golden. To keep with the theme, serve with pan-fried rapini.

Variants

You can enjoy this dish as a vegetable without adding the tomatoes and cheese. To give it a French twist, replace the tomato sauce with béchamel or cream and add pan-fried mushrooms. In my next column, we'll explore asparagus.

Yves Gagnon, cook, seed merchant.