Mashed Jerusalem Artichokes

Jerusalem artichokes are one of those mysterious brown tubers in the supermarket that go largely ignored. We don't know what they are, where they come from, or what to do with them!

They look like ginger.



But they come from a member of the sunflower family.



If you were so inclined, you could have a backyard full of these and eat Jerusalem artichokes every single night.

And you might want to, after you try Mashed Jerusalem Artichokes.

I'll tell you the truth--that I wasn't overly optimistic about this dish when I was making it (and I didn't make the full complement--I only had a pint of Jerusalem artichokes). They didn't LOOK promising.

You boil them with a few potatoes in salted milk until tender, then mash with a little butter. That's it.

But man, the flavor! I served these with hamburgers, and even O'Malley (declared mashed potato hater, prepared to push these away at the slightest provocation) really enjoyed them.

(Don't ask me why my son hates mashed potatoes. Next week, he'll probably love them.)

The Jerusalem artichokes were part of last week's organic produce box from the Fruitful Basket. Slowly but surely, I'm working my way through all these veggies! The program ends mid-September, and I'll have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand it's a lot of pressure to truly honor these excellent vegetables the way they deserve. But what an exciting ride this has been--kind of like Christmas every Friday! And it would have taken me much longer to get around to THIS dish, had those tubers not been tucked in amongst the organic radish sprouts and goat cheese.