Deep-fried Jerusalem artichokes with aubergine yoghurt relish

This is a lovely way to eat these controversial tubers. They tend to give half the population rather bad flatulence – due to a carbohydrate they contain that we mostly can’t digest. They are, in fact, a member of the sunflower family and came originally from North America, where they were a common food among many Native Americans. The name comes from the Italian for sunflower – girasole – as they are not artichokes, and they’re definitely not from Jerusalem.