
Jerusalem artichokes are available December to March. The joy of this recipe is that you don’t need to peel the tubers, the flavour is in the skin so just scrub them clean before cooking.
This will serve 4 as a main course or 6 as a starter.
300 g Jerusalem artichoke, scrubbed and thinly sliced
60 g butter
60 g creme fraiche
150 ml vegetable stock
50g unsalted butter
1 banana shallot very finely chopped so it’s no bigger than a grain of rice
300g Carnoroli rice (Arborio is fine too)
100ml white wine
1 1/2 litres good stock – Chicken or vegetable
1 1/2tbsp salt
4 tbsp parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, grated
2 tbsp chopped chives

Melt half the butter in a sauté or frying pan. Add the Jerusalem artichokes and cook until they become tender. Once soft when priced with a knife. Add stock, bring to the boil and simmer to 10 minutes. Tip into a food processor with the creme fraiche and blend to a purée. Set aside.
In a saucepan bring stock to a simmer add the salt a bit at a time checking for a level of saltiness to season your rice but remember you will be adding salty parmesan at the end
In a wide pan melt the butter on a medium heat and add the rice. Once the rice is hot and slightly toasted add the shallot. The shallot should take just 1 minute to cook. Keep stirring so the rice doesn’t catch.
Add the wine, stir and let it reduce, lower the heat Start adding hot stock a bit at a time. Most food writers will tell you to use a ladle but I’m all about saving washing up so you can just tip a bit at a time from your saucepan, stirring constantly and adding more until nearly absorbed each time – the rice should always be sloppy rather than dry – and then add another and so on.
It usually takes 30 minutes to cook properly. Turning the heat up will not help your risotto cook any quicker – be patient
Keep adding the stock until you are happy with the texture of the rice. It should have a bit of bite to it. When you finish, the rice mixture should still be sloppy. Remember that at this point the rice will continue to absorb the stock and you don’t want a gelatinous lump at the end so if you are worried that it’s too dry, add a little more stock to allow for this absorption.
When the risotto is ready, stir in the puree, parmesan and the rest of the butter and make sure that everything is warm through. Check one last time for seasoning, stir int he chives reserving a few to sprinkle on the top.
Jerusalem artichoke risotto (Sunchoke to my American friends)
Ingredients
- 300 g Jerusalem artichokes scrubbed and thinly sliced
- 60 g butter
- 60 g creme fraiche
- 150 ml veegetable stock
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 1 large banana shallot very finely diced
- 300 g carnoroli rice (or arborio)
- 100 ml white wine
- 1.5 ltr vegetable or chicken stock
- 1.5 tbsp salt
- 4 tbsp parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese grated
- 2 tbsp chives chopped
Instructions
- Melt half the butter in a sauté or frying pan. Add the Jerusalem artichokes and cook until they become tender. Once soft when priced with a knife. Add stock, bring to the boil and simmer to 10 minutes. Tip into a food processor with the creme fraiche and blend to a purée. Set aside.
- In a saucepan bring stock to a simmer add the salt a bit at a time checking for a level of saltiness to season your rice but remember you will be adding salty parmesan at the end
- In a wide pan melt the butter on a medium heat and add the rice. Once the rice is hot and slightly toasted add the shallot. The shallot should take just 1 minute to cook. Keep stirring so the rice doesn’t catch.
- Add the wine, stir and let it reduce, lower the heat Start adding hot stock a bit at a time. Most food writers will tell you to use a ladle but I’m all about saving washing up so you can just tip a bit at a time from your saucepan, stirring constantly and adding more until nearly absorbed each time - the rice should always be sloppy rather than dry - and then add another and so on.
- It usually takes 30 minutes to cook properly. Turning the heat up will not help your risotto cook any quicker – be patient
- Keep adding the stock until you are happy with the texture of the rice. It should have a bit of bite to it. When you finish, the rice mixture should still be sloppy. Remember that at this point the rice will continue to absorb the stock and you don’t want a gelatinous lump at the end so if you are worried that it's too dry, add a little more stock to allow for this absorption.
- When the risotto is ready, stir in the puree, parmesan and the rest of the butter and make sure that everything is warm through. Check one last time for seasoning, stir int he chives reserving a few to sprinkle on the top.
Comments (0)